


The Angel

by Lilith888



Series: The Elements Trilogy [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Magic, Supernatural Elements, Urban Fantasy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-29
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:20:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 25
Words: 36,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26713612
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lilith888/pseuds/Lilith888
Summary: The first of three short novels, in which the undisputed protagonist is the magic that takes the name of Lilith. In this first chapter his rebirth is seen from the point of view of Paolo: catapulted into this world will he be able to become part of it?
Series: The Elements Trilogy [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1944085
Kudos: 4





	1. Lucifer

**Author's Note:**

  * A translation of [L'Angelo](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26628526) by [Lilith888](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lilith888/pseuds/Lilith888). 



> What was it like for Lilith, my Lilith, to see Lucifer fall from the earthly Paradise?  
> Here are the verses with which she accompanies her torment.  
> The story begins with the next chapter.

_**Lucifer**_

I saw you fly high,  
aim at the sun and tear the clouds,  
escape the world and observe it,  
with amazement in your shiny eyes.  
  
I watched you fall  
and anchored to the earth to hold it,  
making it crumble between your fingers,  
until the smell is yours.  
  
Although chained to the eternal past,  
so much so that your gaze still shines  
of black flames and angelic blood,  
you live now in human limbs.  
  
I could touch the immortal feathers  
of your wings with the skin of a mortal soul,  
I can give the light breaking  
on them the name of earthly colours.

Black, red, bronze, mottled  
from death, blood and time.  
But with them you shield yourself from me, Lilith,  
the first to give you what I was.  
  
Show me your face, the onyx  
deep that recalls golden amber  
of these unknown irises of mine that alone  
reveal the demon that is already yours.  
  
Human passions ignite  
as you pass, my own nature  
who is its mother bows to the shade  
of your divine gaze.  
  
Tell me who you are, who will you be to me?  
An anchor or the momentum towards the world?  
My Light, the very sky that I tend to,  
or someone who burns it with me?


	2. We are light and thunder

She put one foot on the narrow window sill, like every night for a couple of months now, and every night she still remembered the feeling she had felt the first time, or maybe just relived it. Even before seeing him she had smelled his scent, the natural one of skin, which remained trapped for a few seconds in the dark frame of the window, until a breath of night air carried it away with it. That night was slightly different, as if softened by the imminent arrival of the first rain in months. She lost herself in that perfume, her eyes closed and her left hand gripping the frame above her head, not knowing if it was so contracted not to let her fall out of that room, or into it. Her mind wandered waiting for the moment when he would open his eyes, tasting but not anticipating it in any way. It was a ritual now. As she wondered why the boy had not closed the window given the impending storm, she concentrated one last time on the sense of smell and then slowly, as if slowly turning the page of a precious book to her, she concentrated on hearing. The thunder in the distance seemed to want to distract her from her pleasure, from the moment she preferred of those visits, but Paolo's regular breathing reached her clear and unmistakable. And then she concentrated a little longer, just enough to bring that slow rhythm to her. And here it was, a slow and regular beat, perfect in its humanity, its unique. If she wanted to, she could feel the blood pumping hot and sticky with each of those beats. Sometimes she loved to get lost following the path of a single stream from his heart to his fingertips that he felt were getting rosier under her gaze. But the light of a flash illuminated the inside of her eyes enough to make her lose focus, so she waited for the thunder and its ringing in her ribcage then opened her eyes. Paolo was still lying between the sheets, but his breathing was irregular, his heart beat faster and his eyes were open and fixed on her. 

For a moment they remained motionless, each looking into each other's eyes as if to seek their thoughts, she standing at attention, ready to react to every move like a predator, he still dazed by sleep, unable to accept the whole scene that showed itself to his eyes. Still lying on the bed with the warm sheets covering his abdomen, he felt the rain-laden air filtering through the hair of the figure framed by the window, it pleasantly tickled his bare shoulders and carried a sweet, fruity, slightly metallic, almost electric perfume. The woman, who seemed about to enter his room, had long wavy hair, her shoulders left uncovered by a dark tank top that reflected the little light that the night had not yet absorbed, and a pair of long trousers, also dark, perhaps black. He slowly returned to her face to try to distinguish her features, but it was impossible for him, he would have liked to turn on a light, but something suggested that he remain still, as if in front of a danger, but every second that passed his breath dwindled and the stillness it became a cruel imprisonment. The woman seemed not to have moved a muscle and as his lungs demanded air, she didn't even seem to breathe. It seemed to Paolo that he could almost make out the outline of her eyes as the darkness became more familiar to him and then a flash lit up her face. It was a moment, but long enough, he sat up with a snap that slid the covers over his legs, fear had left his body as a perplexed question arose on his lips. 

"What...?" 

She quickly got out of the window or at least Paolo thought she had when he found her on him, her hands resting on the sides of his body as well as her knees, and while her body wrapped in what looked like leather was distant from his, her face was close enough for him to recognize each of those familiar features. But before he could say another word, her hand was placed forcefully on his mouth to silence him. She looked at him intently and after a few seconds, slowly, she moved his hand until leaving only one finger to press on his lips so that she could look at them before returning her gaze to the boy's eyes. She read so many things in him, so many swirling thoughts, that she smiled and when he saw her lips curl into what looked like a grin, confusion and perplexity filled his gaze. Then she spoke, blowing the words so softly that he leaned slightly so as not to lose them. 

“Don't say my name, the one you call me by every day. Don't whisper it to the Night, or things far worse than me will cross your threshold”. 

The next instant the pressure on his lips was gone and she too, only her perfume has remained hovering close to his body. 

“Close the window, the storm is now near. I won't come back if you don't call me”.   
  
He looked up, she was in the window again, ready to leap out, not even her face turned to him as she spoke.   
  
"What will I call you if I can't say your name?".   
  
He wanted to be sarcastic, pungent, after all, the tension was starting to make him nervous and his mind was becoming clear enough to overcome the absurdity to draw on sarcasm, but the answer came immediately:   
  
"Lilith, it's a perfect name to run in the shadows."   
  
And she was gone. He got up to look out the window at the lawn below it, but nothing moved. He looked at the sky and the storm clouds so close and, with a sigh, he closed the window, went back to his bed and, as he looked at the shadows cast on the ceiling, he breathed deeply and for the first time pronounced that name:   
  
"Lilith"   
  
The first of many times. 


	3. Shadows of the night

That morning Paolo woke up late, he didn't have to go to university and he had his house free so he went down to the kitchen wearing only the pair of shorts he used to sleep. He turned on the coffee machine and leaning against the table with a cookie in his hand he turned to look out the glass door that led to the back of his house. He opened the door and the warmth welcomed him, the September air was crisp after the storms of the week before, but the sun was warm and pleasant on the bare skin of the shoulders. He closed his eyes and his mind wandered as he inhaled deeply. An image, that he had been trying to drive away for a week, now came back strongly to his mind, a figure framed by his window with his hair moved by cold gusts of wind loaded with rain and his eyes illuminated by lightning still distant. He shook his head as he did every time that scene resurfaced in his thoughts. He thought that continuing like this would cause him a big headache without being able to forget it anyway.

After drinking coffee and taking a shower, he went back to his room. He paced back and forth dripping here and there as he searched for something to put on when nearly tripped over the tangle of sheets that had formed at the foot of the bed. He leaned his hands against the desk before hitting his face and after a couple of failed attempts managed to unravel the knot that had formed around his ankle. He moved and crouched to pull up the sheets before getting really hurt, but as he did so a piece of paper flew across the room, he recognized it immediately and for a few seconds stood still staring at that piece of paper with his messy writing engraved on it. He could leave it there and forget about it or take it and throw it away once and for all. But it was useless. He had written on that piece of paper so as not to forget that very particular name, but immediately afterwards he had felt stupid for having even thought he could forget it. And he had also deluded himself that he could. He took the piece of paper and read it for the first time in a week. 

"Lilith".

He expected her to come out of the window or to appear directly in the room, an image flashed in his mind that included lightning and thunder, but the sky was clear and the open window was completely empty. He called himself stupid, after all she couldn't hear him and even if she could, it would have taken her some time to get to his house, or so he thought. He waited a few minutes sitting on the bed looking at the window, then got up and looked down at the lawn. When he realized he was still half naked with only a towel around his waist he went to get dressed and went back to the room as quickly as possible. After half an hour spent shifting his gaze from the window to the mobile phone screen, he called himself an idiot. He had probably imagined it all. And he dropped the note in the trash. 

The day passed slowly between studying and wasted time trying in vain to concentrate. It came in the evening that he had given up on doing anything that was minimally useful and had been running on the internet for an hour now, jumping from one site to another. When he found himself with the blank Google search page looking at him insistently, he tried to shut down the computer, but an idea crossed his mind. 

"What the hell's name is Lilith?" He said it out loud, calling himself stupid for not having thought about looking up that name on the internet before instead of wasting time all afternoon trying to get it out of his mind. He did not know what to expect, but many pages appeared including many blogs in which the name Lilith was followed by things about the Moon and the Darkness, he clicked on the Wikipedia link and found himself in front of the picture of a naked woman squeezed in the coils of a snake, the woman rested her chin on the head of the snake as on that of a lover and the long orange blond hair stroked her and the snake's skin creating a bright curtain in front of a dark background. The caption attributed the work to a Pre-Raphaelite, John Collier, who perhaps he had already heard at school. He began to read the various information and was baffled. Lilith was, according to various traditions and lines of thought, a demon or the first woman and was associated with storm, disease and death. The more he read, the worse the information, apparently the best thing that could be said about that name was that in recent centuries it had represented women's emancipation. He skipped through paragraphs that reported the various beliefs and came up with the references that were found in various books and films. The list was very long and not everything was unfamiliar to him, but he didn't remember ever having heard that name before.

"I see you searched for my name on the internet, I am very honored, especially after a week of silence". 

Paolo nearly fell off his chair at hearing that voice. There she was, behind him with her head close to his looking at the screen. At his jolt the girl walked away and sat on his bed, propped herself up on the arms left bare by the black blouse she was wearing and crossed her legs. On her face she had an amused grin and at that moment the boy thought that perhaps the name she had chosen was not very inappropriate. Maybe she didn't look demonic but she didn't seem very angelic either. 

"How long have you been here?". 

"Since you called my name." 

"This morning? So why didn't you show up? What game are you playing?". 

“Actually from tonight. You know: “what the hell's name is Lilith?”? I waited for you to finish your research, you seemed very interested ”. 

"Did you hear me tonight and not this morning?". 

“Lilith is a perfect name for running in the shadows, it doesn't work as well with light. If you want to call me during the day you will have to use the good old cellphone method”.

"Good to know". 

"So, are you going to call me back?" 

"I have some questions for you, but since you're here I might ask you now." 

"I have to go now". 

Paolo looked down, feeling disappointment taking the place of confusion on his face. He didn't notice that she had gotten out of the bed until he felt her breath brush against his cheek.

"See you tomorrow afternoon at four outside your house."

And before he could answer she was gone.


	4. I'm not afraid

He was an idiot. In the last half an hour he had arrived at this truth, that he could consider absolute, given his mental and physical state. He hadn't slept all night and once he had woken up, he had vegetated on the bed turning over in the sheets with a knot in his stomach. Now that he had decided not to pretend that everything that had happened was a dream, he was afraid. Questions like -What kind of creature can jump up to the second floor window and back down without getting hurt? She had jumped or flown? Telekinesis?- -Why did you choose the name of a demon?- -Why was it on my window the other night?- -Who am I dealing with?-. Paolo was tormented by these questions and in his mind he was reviewing the scenes in which what he had believed to be a normal girl of his age was the protagonist. He had known her forever, they had never been friends, but they had gone out, had mutual friends and he had never noticed anything abnormal about her. Now he wondered how blind he had been and what he hadn't seen, because, for all he knew, she could be a cruel monster who was just playing with him before eating him. 

The time of the date came too quickly, he was still putting on his shirt when the bell of the church near his house began to strike its four tolls. He looked out the window fearing to see the girl lurking under the lemon growing in the meadow below, or above the tree, but there was no trace of her. He ran to the ground floor, fastening his buttons and trying to remember where he had left the shoes he had decided to wear. He found himself under his window with a slight breath of breath due mostly to anxiety, but he relaxed to notice that he was still alone. 

"You are late". The voice came from behind him, he felt the skin behind his neck freeze and for a moment he thought it was her fault, that she was whispering on his neck and an alarm bell rang in his mind, a scream that came from inside his stomach -Too close-. But when he whirled around she was leaning against the side of the house a few feet away, an amused smile painted on her face framed by her long brown hair. The girl pulled away from the wall by levering up the foot that was resting on it and took a couple of steps towards him, her hands barely slipped into the pockets of the tight and completely black jeans. At that confident step, accompanied by that smile, Paolo took a step back. She froze, raising an eyebrow as if surprised by that reaction and stood looking at him.

"Are you going to run away if I get close?".

Paolo was undecided for a moment about what to do: run away, stay still, maybe answer. "No, I would say no". 

"Well, let's go then." She slowly approached him, looked up for a moment when they were now a few inches away to look him in the eyes and then passed him, without waiting for him to follow her. After a few meters down the street that led to the only small square in the town, Paolo joined her and with his hands in his pockets walked alongside her. 

"Where are we going?" he asked when the silence began to weigh too much on him. 

"Take a walk, nowhere in particular, as long as it's okay with you" she said those last words turning towards him, the smile always printed on her face to underline the ironic tone, also derisive, according to the boy. 

They arrived as far as the square which was nothing more than the churchyard and leaned against the wall that delimited the area. 

“I've always loved this place, it has a beauty that goes beyond perfection”. In saying it, the girl let out a sigh and Paolo noticed that her eyes were chained to the landscape. They both lived in the same city on the Ligurian coast, which embraced a small gulf, but he lived on one of the hills that were part of it, and the view of the gently sloping mountains and the horizon that was lost between sky and sea was spectacular. The water still had the typical summer color, an intense blue that shone illuminated by the sun's rays and almost merged with the lighter shade that was the September sky. They remained like that for a while longer, Paolo was waiting for her to say something, anything, but she seemed totally absorbed by what stood out in front of her. He turned his back to the sea and sat on the wall, took a deep breath and took courage.

"So why are we here?".

"You wanted to ask me questions last night, I guess you didn't find all the answers on the internet." 

"More than anything else I found delusions about demons and witchcraft." 

“Delusions… So? Come on, shoot”. 

The boy did not know where he could start without risking that she would get angry or worse, after all, however human she seemed, he was now sure that she was not completely. So he chose a question that seemed harmless to him.

"Why were you in my room last week?" 

"I was watching you sleeping". 

"Ok. Well, not really. Why the hell were you watching me sleeping? " 

"I was checking on you".

"Checking? And why on earth? ”. 

"Because you might be in danger."

Paolo was starting to get nervous, they were there for her to answer his questions, but she didn't really seem willing to do it, on the contrary he felt vaguely mocked. Sure, she replied, but she was telling him basically nothing but nonsense and she was certainly not helping him understand what was happening to the normalcy of his life. He jumped off the wall and turned to face her, she slowly turned her head at that gesture and looked at him with a calm that made him go even more revved up until he blurted out. 

“But what are you talking about? Am I in danger? And who or what should put me in danger and why? The most dangerous thing right now is you, as long as it's not a really well organized bad joke. And then this name thing, what should I call you? It's daytime so is your name okay? Is Sofia okay? Or rather you always use Lilith, or the name of some other being. And above all, can I know what you are?”. For a moment he felt better, but when he saw her eyes go cold and fix on him he regretted and tried to put his hands on and make up for it somehow, but she silenced him in a tone that left no room for question or replicas. 

“Something has come close to you, something you don't want to have anything to do with, but as long as I'm around you, it will stay away. But there is no longer any need for you to see me or call me in any way, if you want I can simply protect you from afar or stop doing it altogether, after all I doubt that you have any use for them. Go back to living your life as you always have, as if I don't exist”. She was about to leave when she changed his mind, came back to him and with a grin that had little of human added "But if you really have to call me, remember that only a being of darkness can answer his name in the night. You called Lilith and I answered”.


	5. Maybe I was looking in all the wrong places

Life had to go on. Inexorably it went on. His parents had returned, the lessons, the study, the train, had returned to being his daily life. Almost. 

Paolo sat down heavily on the uncomfortable chair of the university library. He had returned for the fifth time from the maze of shelves with a series of books of various kinds. Some were used to study; others had a completely different purpose. The volumes that went beyond his studies were stacked among the others; he had put them as if hidden from his view but did nothing but going back and looking at the backs and titles that were engraved there. 

In his mind he was going over the words that Sofia had said to him and did not know how to feel about it. The most varied feelings had followed one another in his mind: anger, amazement, fear, relief. The night before he had woken up with a start, had looked at the time and, finding that it was the middle of the night, had tried to go back to sleep. He had rolled over in bed trying to remember what had woken him, a dream or perhaps a noise, but he could not bring back anything but the usual image of her in the frame of his window. But the window was closed and there was nothing beyond it but absolute darkness. So, in the night he had uttered the other name of the girl, "Lilith" as a whisper, and had waited until he had woken up that morning, with the light of dawn filtering through the glass of the still closed window. 

And now he was there and he wasn't scared or angry, he was just lost. Whatever had passed through that window seemed to have gone without his understanding of it. So, he had those books in front of him, but he knew they weren't able to give him the answers he wanted. He took them one by one and brought them back to the shelves that contained the esoteric books, stood for a moment with the battery in his hand before deciding to drop it on a nearby table. He started to leave when he heard a slight thud, turned and saw that one of the volumes had fallen and that he risked not being the only one. He crouched down to pick it up and was about to arrange the others better when a voice behind him threatened to make him doing a mess. 

“Interesting reading, the demons.  ARe you doing a search?". 

Paolo looked up and found himself in front of a girl, or rather the legs of a girl, who was holding one of the books he had chosen in his hands. He got up quickly risking to drop the whole pile and stopped to look at it. He was holding a text called ' Pseudomonarchia daemonum ' in which all kinds of demons were listed, or so the summary on the back said, he couldn't be sure since he hadn't felt very tempted to read it. The girl handed it to him with a  half-smile . 

“Yes, research, but nothing serious. Thank you” he replied, taking the book and turning it over in his hands. After a few seconds he set it down on one of the shelves. He started to walk away but the girl stepped in front of him.

"Do you study here?" she asked him. 

"Yup". He would have liked to close there but out of politeness he forced himself to continue "you?". 

"No, I'm here with some friends." 

"And do you spend the day in the library?" not that he really cared. 

“I love books. Anyway, I'm Lucy” and she held out her hand. 

"Nice to meet you Paolo". The boy was looking for a way to leave without being too rude, but Lucy seemed to want to chat. 

"So, are you only interested in demons or also angels, gods, vampires, witches and various?". 

"I would say demons, but it is new to me." 

" So, you're not a nerd who reads everything there is of fantasy in the world?". 

"Definitely not" then, in order not to seem annoyed, he tried to reciprocate the interest "And are you a fan of fantasy?". 

"Absolutely yes!".

***

Ten minutes later, the time to collect their stuff, they were outside the building that housed the library and headed to a bar not far away but not very popular with university students. Paolo really had no idea how it happened, but the girl practically left him no options. Sure, he could have dismissed her by pretending he had to study, but he needed a coffee so he'd let himself be convinced. 

They sat at one of the small steel tables that were in the room, they chose the one that was in the corner, low and with a dull orange napkin holder. Paolo watched the girl as she took off her light brown jacket that hid a white blouse tied at the neck with a bow. Lucy ordered a cappuccino with caramel, something far too sweet for his taste, so he chose a plain coffee. As soon as the waitress walked away the girl attacked: 

“So, what do you like in particular? I mean between demons, angels and various. I love vampires and the legends that revolve around them, so a bit of everything to be honest. Why are you interested?". 

"I wanted to understand this new trend and I was documenting myself” he found himself lying.

“You want to impress a girl, right? However, the university library is certainly not the best place to learn something about it ". 

At Lucy's question he started, while their cups arrived so he could avoid answering. For a moment he lost himself thinking about Sofia and why he was documenting herself, but his attention was drawn to a flash of colour at the edge of his field of vision. The girl had pulled back a lock of her long orange hair with one hand. They were slightly wavy and of a colour that made the napkin holder on the coffee table look faded and insignificant. They also reflected the little light there was in the bar and looked incredibly soft. He roused himself from his thoughts when she looked up and realized he was staring at her. If he hadn't been embarrassed enough to quickly lower his gaze, he would have focused a few more seconds on the light eyes and the small freckles that pointed her diaphanous skin. Paolo forced himself to resume the conversation, without looking up from the cup.

"And what would be the best place to find out something?".

“I would say the internet, TV series, some movies and novels. But you must have a base from which to start, a topic, a species, a name”. 

The boy immediately thought of Lilith, but he had already read something about her on the internet and then he was too specific to be just someone who wanted to know anything about it. 

"Tell me about the vampires, since you like them so much."

“If I hadn't caught you with your hands between the shelves of esotericism, I would think you don't really care given your tone. What do you want to know anyway? Legends, how to kill them, the best films, how they were created…”.

"Start from the beginning, how were they created?".

"Well, there are many hypotheses of course, there are those who believe that the first vampire is Count Dracula, who used to impale his enemies and drink their blood, obviously from here comes the story of the stakes, but it is not credible that he is the first vampire. Few believe that it is Judas, condemned to wander the earth drinking in the blood of men after having betrayed Christ, here is the explanation of silver and ash. But those who are passionate know that there are much older legends from all over the world, nightmares, succubus, demons drinking human blood. The theory that I and many others believe in, is that the first vampire is Cain, in fact vampires are also called  _ cainids _ , who after killing his brother was forced to drink the blood of his own lineage. He thus created a new lineage together with the first demon, the same one that led him to kill Abel”.

Paolo had remained rather passive to what he still believed to be bullshit, but hearing her utter the words 'first demon' a bell rang in his mind and he almost overturned the cup he was holding in his hands.

"The first demon?" he asked, almost hoping he was wrong.

“Yes of course, men are called children of Eve, the vampire bloodline instead descends from a demon. She who led Cain to revolt against his brother and against God himself, as she first did. Lilith ".

Lilith.

That name, again. It seemed impossible to him that it was a coincidence, that this girl he had just met had ended up talking about Lilith. He had been staring at her for a few seconds now and he realized that he should have looked away or said something, whatever, but it was like he was frozen and now she was looking at him, curious.

"Everything is alright? Did I say something too nerdy?" she was smiling, but she was beginning to look nervous.

"No, imagine" Paolo shook himself but looking at his hands he noticed that he was convulsively squeezing the small coffee cup "it's just not the first time I've heard that name."

“I'm not surprised, the same thing happened to me”.

Paolo looked up at Lucy's face, at the big clear eyes that looked at him amused.

"What do you mean?" he couldn't have known Lilith; the same thing couldn't have happened to her. Other than coincidences, he was beginning to feel that there was something sinister about this girl.

“I mean it often happens like this with these things. You had never heard the name of an artist, a writer or whatever, a demon, then you watch a movie, it appears and you end up finding it everywhere: television series, books, paintings. I first heard the name Lilith a few years ago and then it never stopped  appearing” .

The boy barely realized he had stopped breathing, until he started again, slowly, with a big sigh. He let go of the cup and just smiled, not sure what to answer.

“However, since you are interested in demons, I could give you some titles, maybe I could show you passages from various books or we could see a movie together. If you like, I'm still in town for a couple of weeks at least”.

"Sorry, are you asking me for a date?" he was too stunned to think, he realized late what he had just said. He had never been very good with women; he had dated a couple of girls but never for long periods and he was certainly never cheeky. He tried to think of a way to fix it and not look like a complete idiot. But Lucy interrupted his ruminations.

“Well I'd say yes”. 

"Ah OK. But you do not know me". 

“You don't know me either, yet we're here for a drink together. It wasn't just your sudden interest in demons. Or was it?". 

Paolo didn't know what to answer. He'd only followed the girl to that bar because he didn't want to be rude and hoped to hear about Lilith, but if she was had been middle-aged man or a girl with pimples and too many extra pounds, he would had certainly found an excuse in a few seconds. He looked at Lucy, her hair a beautiful red-orange, clear eyes and a small physique of which for now he had only glimpsed her legs covered in brown tights. She was undoubtedly a beautiful girl, perhaps a little too talkative for his tastes and with a vaguely annoying interest in vampires. But that was precisely the reason why he had followed her up there.

“Well not only that, although obviously I wanted to avoid reading all those tomes”.

"Not only... I guess I'll have to be content with being 'not only' your personal Wikipedia".

Paolo no longer knew what to say, much less how to get out of that situation. He wasn't even sure he wanted to get out of it, no girl had ever been so explicit with him and Lucy was definitely raising his self-esteem.  So, in a moment of excessive confidence he decided to launch himself:

"Let's do this, tomorrow I'll see you again here, I bring the computer and you show me some stuff about demons, vampires and even Lilith. And I offer you all the drinks containing coffee that you can  swallow” .

"I am an avid caffeine consumer so I could never refuse, but know that you risk bloodletting".

"Then we agree. See you tomorrow same time out here ?” .

"Yes, perfect".

Paolo left the room behind her and with his eyes followed her as she took the opposite direction to his, her hair slightly ruffled by the September wind, the short skirt that he hadn't noticed until that moment and the short and quick step. An image superimposed itself on that of the little girl he was watching: the darker hair, the tall and harmonious figure dressed in black, the slow and sure step as she walked away from him with a cold fury. The thought that she was now out of his life came back to haunt him and at times Paolo welcomed it with relief, trying to put his heart in peace and convince himself that it was the best thing for his life that Lilith was no longer a part of it. Then came the thousand questions and the feeling that something was missing, something that was only found in movies or books, but that had presented itself with a surprising reality. And now he had just made a date with a girl whose beauty had barely touched him, as if she hadn't been able to make her way through those currents that swirled in him, currents she had set in motion: Lilith.


	6. You make my dreams come true

"She is cute". 

A voice from somewhere in the room made him jump. He was in pieces and needed to rest. 

"What are you talking about?" his vision was blurred. He couldn't see from which corner of the room her voice was coming even though it was only in dim light.

"You know very well Who I'm talking about." For some reason he already sensed the smile in her voice, that subtle note of mockery that alternated with impossibility, or anger.

"I thought you weren't following me anymore."

“It tends to be true”.

"And by chance you followed me just today when I was with Lucy."

"I was the only one who didn't have anything better to do" she moved slightly and Paolo was able to see her "so her name is Lucy".

"As if you didn't know" he sat up in bed, pulling the blanket up with him to cover his bare chest. He thought it was time to start wearing a sleep shirt. 

"To tell the truth, I didn't know."

"How did you get in?" Paolo had noticed that the bedroom window was closed.

"It's not important".

"Indeed, it is. If you can enter, who knows who else can do it”.

"No one else can enter here, unless they are human."

“How can you be sure? Not even Who had better things to do tonight?" he was beginning to get impatient. Who was she talking about before? Who had she sent to follow him in those days? He looked at her motionless at the side of the window, a weak light illuminating only part of her left profile, but in those few features he could read mockery, security and something else that looked like anger. He remembered what he had told her the last time they met. "Listen I'm sorry I told you that you are the only dangerous thing in my life, I don't think you will take all this trouble if there wasn't a valid reason, but if you don't tell me anything..." he raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. He was right to be at least frustrated with that situation, right?

“They follow my orders, and in any case, they are unable to cross the defences of this house. And you're right, there is a good reason, but I can't tell you more. The fact that you go around asking about demons and vampires is already dangerous”.

"And what else should I do? And who are they?" he had never felt so frustrated in his life.

"Believe me when I tell you I cannot tell you anything" she had approached, dangerously. By now she was next to his bed, she reached out and touched his chin, lingering a second too long "I'll try not to let you see me again and let you live your life, in a short time this will seem just a bad dream" when Paolo with a courage he doubted came to him grabbed her hand before it was out of reach. It was cold, only the fingers showed a hint of warmth.

"I don't want you to disappear, I want the truth, and as frustrating as this  is, I understand it's more real than my life out there has been until now."

Sofia nodded and slipped her hand out of his grip, looked at it as if she didn't recognize her own limb, walked to the window and without a word disappeared.

Paolo almost jumped on the bed, unable to process what he had just seen. A dream, just a bad dream. Instead it was his reality.


	7. There are flashes of light

Lucy was very beautiful and Paolo was now well aware of that, but she was really strange, and when it came to supernatural beings her passion bordered on madness. 

They had been sitting for half an hour, they occupied the same table as the day before, had ordered a couple of cappuccinos and Paolo was vaguely listening while the girl listed the various ways in which it was believed that a new vampire could be created. He was making his gaze wander from the cup to the window overlooking the alley of Genoa. He hardly noticed that Lucy had stopped talking and was watching him. 

"What do you say if we get out of here?". 

At those words, Paolo roused himself, laid his eyes on her and found her smiling. 

"Sure, as you want." 

"It's not that I want it, but you're not listening to me, at least we take a walk and I enjoy this city." 

“Sorry, I didn't mean, I just slept badly tonight. Okay, come on, let's go get some air ". 

Once they left, Paolo led her towards the centre of the city, and when they arrived in Piazza De Ferrari, he made her admire the facades of the Palazzo Ducale and the Carlo Felice and took her to sit on the edge of the large fountain in the centre. 

Paolo, in order not to be overwhelmed by news about vampires, tried to change the subject: “I never asked you where you are from and what you do. In the end, I only know that you are here with  friends” .

“I live in Rome; I study literature and work in a bookshop”. 

"When it's not supernatural stuff you're very concise." 

"It's definitely more interesting stuff than my life."

“What about the friends you're here with? Are you never with them?”. 

"One is here to visit her boyfriend, we are staying at his house these days, while the other is passionate about boats, this morning he was at the port. We get together in the evening and we all go out together but during the day we mind our own business”.

" Where does your friend's boyfriend live?".

“In a kind of waterfront villa. His folks are on a cruise and so he has the whole house to  himself” .

"I  got it ".

"I  told you it wasn't interesting ."

Lucy  was playing with the water of the  fountain , the  reflections illuminated her face and  her eyes seemed shiny ,  as if they reflected the small  ripples that she herself was creating .  She almost looked sad or  maybe just  bored .

"What's like to live in Rome? I mean, it's a huge city, Genoa is a small town in comparison”.

" Chaotic . I like  being able to  pick up and  walk near the  Colosseum or the Forums,  but getting there is a  nightmare .

"I just noticed, you have no cadence" and it was actually true, if she hadn't told him that she was from Rome he would never have guessed it.

“Whenever I can I go away and I am very careful not to take the Roman cadence. And my family is an ethnic mix so nobody speaks in dialect at  home” .

" Why is your name  not Italian ?".

"My  mother is from Milan  while my father is from Wales, so in  order not to  clash my name with the English  surname they opted for Lucy".

“Well, it's interesting, so I guess you'll be fluent in English. I have a very normal Genoese family and I am completely denied for languages”.

The girl turned to look at him with a  half-smile, it seemed that something was troubling her but Paolo certainly couldn't trust his own feelings, especially in terms of women.

" Why we are  here ?".

“Well, this part of Genoa is one of the most beautiful. I thought that later we could take a tour of the Porto Antico if you like”.

"You did not understand. Why did you agree to go out with me? I mean, yesterday I thought you just wanted to get information about the supernatural world, but today you didn't pay attention to a single word. Yet you seem anything but interested in me, you barely looked at me. And apart from my passion for the supernatural, my life is monotonous and I certainly didn't hit you with my  story” .

“Hey slow down. But are you serious?". Paolo was stunned, he didn't understand anything about girls, but he was pretty sure he was left behind a few steps.

“I  am very serious .  Were you really interested in information on  demons ,  vampires and  various ? ".

“Yes, I  wanted to  find out some  things ”.

“ Things of  what kind ?  Aren't you interested in  vampires ? And the  demons ? Are  those better ? ".

" I'm more  interested in  demons ."

“Well, so only demons. Good to know, at least I know I made a movie and you don't care at  all”.

“I  didn't say that ,  but I  don't know  you at all . I  mean ,  we spent a  couple of hours  together talking about crazy stuff . "

“ It was you who wanted to talk  about it! Not just me ".

“True, but you really know too much. I barely know who Dracula is. And now you come out with the fact that I don't care. I don't even know how we got  here”.

" Then maybe you should ask me  questions instead of  letting me talk for hours."

“ This I can do”.

"Regarding the other issue, I do not offer anyone lectures on the supernatural. I don't go around the libraries looking for kids in  difficulty”.

" So, what are you doing here?".

"I like  you ".

" But you don't even know me."

" Well, you were leafing through very interesting books and you don't have the face of a maniac, I found you cute, with your green eyes and that lost air between the shelves. A coffee was no great danger. In short, you are not bad, physically you are my type and temperamentally, apart from the moments of absence, you are nice ".

" Would I be  your type ?"

Lucy looked at him for a moment, her fingers still immersed in the water and her long hair in danger of getting wet. Paolo watched her as she got up, wiped her hand on the blue cardigan that she wore open on the  grey dress she wore that day and with one step she walked in front of him. She put her hands on his shoulders while still looking at him, pressing her legs against his knees. Paolo automatically opened his legs slightly to leave space between them for the incredibly light and thin ones of the girl. Lucy lifted his chin with a finger and approached his face bending down as her hair rested on the boy's shoulders. Once close enough she whispered in his ear:

“You are my type. The question is: am I yours ?” .

***

He was an idiot. Lately he had often thought that, first for how he had behaved with Sofia and now for how he had not behaved with Lucy. As he walked close to her through the alleys of Genoa, he was becoming more and more convinced that the moment she bent over to him she expected to be kissed. 

“You are my type. The question is: am I yours ?” .

It had been explicit. It was an invitation; he was pretty sure of it. But he, as usual, got there too late. Now they were walking alongside the church of San Lorenzo, quite close together, and he did not know what to say and what to do. He certainly couldn't come up with "You're my type too," not after a good ten minutes of silence. If he had been more casual, he would have simply kissed her, he was quite convinced that she would not have pulled back, but he had no idea how to do it. He was simply stuck.

After a  couple of minutes,  filled with the voices of  Genoese passers -by,  they reached the end of the  alley ,  crossed the street and  found themselves at the Porto Antico.

"Here we are". Paolo was trying to find a way to strike up some kind of conversation, but he felt more and more inadequate. It was the girl who helped him.

" What is that ?". Lucy  was pointing to a strange  structure that was in front of  them formed by a  series of  poles that from the water  pointed towards the  sky in  various directions .

"It is the  Bigo , once it was a crane used to load and unload goods in port, now it is a tourist attraction. Do you see that cabin? It is a kind of lift, it goes up to the top, rotating on itself and showing Genoa at 360  °” .

Lucy approached the line in front of the ticket office, Paolo thought she wanted to go for a ride but saw her go on and stop again a few meters ahead. She was looking towards the aquarium structure.

"I guess that's the Biosphere instead" she said when he reached it, pointing to a large sphere of glass and steel placed on the surface of the water.

"Yes,  have you already heard of  it ?".

“I  researched myself before coming  here . The aquarium and the Biosphere are the first  things you will find if you look  at a Genoa guide ".

"It looks quite impressive from the  inside; the tropical flora is very realistic."

"I  am not a lover of wild nature,  even if enclosed in a  sphere ".

" Then maybe it is better to  move on".

They walked for a while looking at the sea, which was still and of a blue so intense to make the clear sky pale, and at times the ancient buildings of Genoa that seemed to attract Lucy's attention much more than the natural beauties of the place.

"I love the way  certain buildings look like  they pop out."

Paolo was looking at the girl when she came up with that comment. Her gaze was fixed on a building with a richly decorated facade.

"What do you mean by 'popping out'?" he asked as he watched her, wonderfully absorbed in her contemplation.

“Take a good look at that building, it is of unique beauty. So decorated, with attention and balance that make it majestic. Neither too much nor too little. If you don't turn around at the right moment, just when you pass it, it doesn't attract your attention at all, it blends perfectly with the neighbouring buildings. But if you really look at it, you notice every detail, the green and gold that stand out against the white, the frescoes that give depth. Something immortal, ancient, which seems to want to hide in normality, but it can do little to conceal its greatness”.

" It takes on a  whole other aspect now that you've talked about it like  that ."

" What do  you mean ?".

“ Now I  see it majestic and  it is true that it stands out from the  other buildings,  but I  also find it sad .  Stayed there all this time  while the  rest around him changed .  Perhaps hiding is the  only way he can  survive the  change ".

“I believe it shouldn't hide, but it should stand up in its glory. Everything that has lived, centuries and eras, has resisted man and his decline. It should be proud of it”.

"I have the impression that we are no longer talking about the same thing".

“No, or  at least not only .  Everything that is ancient should not give way and  lose itself ".

“Sometimes we can't help but give in to the future and change”.

"I  find it unacceptable ".

After that comment Lucy turned and took a couple of steps towards the sea. She waited for Paolo with a smile that had a slightly bitter taste and when he reached her she started walking towards a bench. She sat down, her thin legs crossed left uncovered by the dress and her hands placed in her lap. As he took his seat next to her, the boy was tempted to get at a safe distance, but he took courage and once he sat down his elbow brushed her side. He was so nervous that he started talking almost without realizing it, but once he started it was easier:

“Look, I'm bad at these things, I don't invite girls I don't know out. I don't even invite the ones I know. I was intrigued by the supernatural world and you seemed a lot more interesting than those big books and I have to admit that if you weren't the way you are, physically I mean, I doubt I would. But I don't know if you're my type, I don't know you at all. First you seem all interested in vampires, then you come up with this story that I'm your kind of guy, then suddenly you are an art expert. Honestly, I can't keep up with  you” .

" Have you been thinking  about it since when I  was delirious ?".

"More or  less . More  than anything else I  thought about the  fact that I  should have kissed you and  not give a  damn about the  whole outline that I  didn't understand ".

Lucy laughed, throwing her head back a little, loudly, her eyes almost moistening. Paolo thought for a moment that he should have been offended, but instead he felt the tension leave his body and he too began to laugh.

“Maybe you are too crazy for me. I take it all back, you are not my  type”. Lucy said these words while still laughing.

"Look,  between the  two I  don't know  who is worse off".

"Exactly. Together we are a disaster foretold. All jokes aside, sorry about early. I exaggerated".

"No problem. I actually have no idea what I'm  doing” .

“ We're just  getting to know  each other . And  you can  ask me  what you want about the  supernatural world. I  am at your disposal ".

" I'll prepare some  questions for  next time."

" So, there will be a next time?".

" If I'm not too indecisive and  awkward for  you ."

“But I find it adorable. And now that I know you wanted to kiss me, I promise I'll be less insecure and  delusional”.

Paolo blushed, he distinctly felt a flow of heat rise to his cheeks and looked down at his hands. It was ridiculous, even though it had been hard to admit he wanted to kiss her, she had clearly made it clear that she liked him. That sense of unease was stupid. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He felt Lucy move close to him and put her hand under his chin. An image filled his eyes, a face that had nothing to do with the one of the  girl who stood in front of him. Different, stronger hands had touched his face a few hours earlier. Lucy kissed him lightly and as he tested the softness of those lips for the first time, a knot inside him tightened and he imagined that someone else's kissing him.


	8. Indecent

It was all a huge rip off. 

You cannot go from zero to a thousand in a couple of days because he could only be left behind or worse, hit a wall. He needed time to process all the information about Lilith, what she had told him and what he had discovered. Heck, he was hoping to get more information from Lucy, but their "relationship" had taken a totally unexpected turn and he had hardly asked her about the legends surrounding that name. He had only discovered that every demon, like every angel, according to the Old Testament, had a unique name, there could not be two Lilith, of which obviously there were multiple translations and to which different epithets were associated. Lilith had an exasperating amount of them, and they were each more terrifying than the other.

"I like train stations".

He jumped. Heck he wished he hadn't. He knew it was her, and he told himself that he would be strong, firm, determined if he saw her again ... definitely cooler than he was at that moment. Because, even if he hadn't turned around yet with the stupid  expression he knew he had on his face, his heart was beating madly and his neck was covered with a thin veil of panic, panic sweat. And she could feel both. She was a demon, right?! Surely demons could do that. He should have asked Lucy.

"I guess you will also tell me why" tone quite calm, he could finally turn around.

"There must always be a why" a new seriousness was in her eyes. She was looking at him with that gaze where he could see the vastness of what she had seen, but this time he could see himself reflected. 

"At least unconscious..." what a stupid reply.

“I like to see people who pass there and live. I could watch the same sky for hours go from a set of dust blues that portend rain to the blond sand of a single ray that thickens the sky to show a more serene sunset of the day. But nothing can better fill the prospect of an infinite world than the passage of a thousand and more lives in a railway station”.

“It's not like so many people pass through here”.

She laughed, simply and heartily. "You're right, but I'm used to running many stations".

“So, let me understand. Do you spend your life staring at people in stations all over the world? " it couldn't be true.

“Well obviously not! But I happen to go through it. Like right now”.

"By the way, what are you doing here?".

“I'm clearly here to learn more about human nature. Do you see that woman with her two daughters?" with her chin she pointed over the platform. In front of them a black woman was holding a little girl with a beautiful head of black curls by the hand, in the other hand the handle of a pink trolley and just behind them a girl of about fourteen with her eyes fixed in their direction.

"Did you follow them up here?".

Another laugh "No, of course. But look at the girl”. She wasn't looking at them generally, she was staring at the two of them.

“She is watching us”.

"And tell me, when you looked at her, did she  look away?".

He returned his eyes to the girl once again, to her gaze, stubborn, interested and perhaps defiant. "No".

"She is thinking that one day she will be like me".

"Like you?"  Of course, she was able of mind reading.

"That she'll be cheeky and she'll sit next to guys like you like it's nothing."

"Guys like me ..."

"Sexy and smart-looking. And indecent too. I think she's reading some book about indecently sexy guys.” A distant smile from her pursed her lips. "If only she knew ..."

"What?".

"How indecent you are obviously" she got up from the wall they were both sitting on. She stood in front of him standing between his eyes and the girl's now grainy gaze. She grabbed him by the neck of his shirt and forced him to come closer. He knew what the girl had to see on the other track, the sinuous figure of a woman, dressed in black and with a long high ponytail that always seemed to move to the rhythm of an indecent song. The word of the day. Indecent. And he bending over to kiss her, without being able to avoid it. "If only she knew how much your presence alone shakes me, how many people I don't see just because my gaze is lost behind the possibility of doing this... If only she knew she would really want to be me".


	9. She can turn every day in Heaven or Hell

Paolo was late. He was almost running towards the only bar near his house. He quickly checked the time on the clock in the church tower. For a few minutes he would not be shot, or at least he hoped so.

He arrived on the square and the memories returned to haunt him. Lucy kissing him a couple of days ago. Him with Sofia on that same square. The station scene, he still didn't know how he got home after the shock. He realized that not even a week had passed and yet it seemed to him that it had happened months ago. 

Whoever was waiting for him was turned on his back, looking at the same panorama that he himself had admired with Sofia before she left him there in a daze. Lately he often felt too stupid to follow what was going on in his own life. Far too often. For this he had called a friend who he hoped could help him. 

"Hey bye, sorry I'm late." 

"By your standards you are on time". 

Paolo and Andrea had known each other since high school. They had always been friends with the same people but only in the last two years had they found themselves sharing a lot. Although they studied at different faculties and cheered for Genoa's two rival soccer teams, they often met to play a few soccer matches together or to have a few beers together after the day at university. But what really united them was their temperament. Both, despite being part of a very large group of friends, sometimes sought tranquillity and solitude. Paolo preferred books and some television series such as “Lost”, Andrea preferred role-playing games on the internet and the great colossal. When all their friends decided to go out in a group and they weren't in the mood, they would settle down at the house of one of them and let the time go by over a beer. But lately Andrea had begun to tell Paolo something more about his life, every now and then he also talked about girls, one in particular with whom he had been together for a couple of years. That's why the boy had called him, he hoped he could do the same to clear his head.

They had sat down at a table in the bar. The place was nothing fancy or modern. It could be called rustic being kind, but what made it spectacular was the large window that occupied an entire wall and showed the gulf below them in its beauty. Paolo tormented the bottle of beer he was holding, not knowing how to begin the conversation.

“So, are  you all right? I haven't seen you around for a while" Andrea asked him as he looked at the sea beyond the glass.

"More or less. You? Are you all right with Laura? ".

"The usual. Little problems in heaven”.

"Is she always convinced that you are hiding something from her?".

"Always. But then I'm not a great communicator, I can't blame her completely”. Andrea sighed, perhaps thinking back to the discussions with his girlfriend, then resumed: "Instead what is your problem?".

"What makes you think I have a problem?".

“Well, you called me this morning asking me to see you as soon as possible, maybe tonight, on a Monday. Also, it seems that you have to go to the gallows, like you have to tell me that you went out with my sister. You didn't go out with my sister, did you? ”.

"Do not worry. I don't even know if I would recognize your little sister on the street”.

“So, what is it about? Come on, speak up! "

"Let's say I met a girl".

"Interesting. How is she? Nice?".

"Very".

"Sexy?".

"Pretty much".

"Let me guess, you like her but she doesn't like you."

“No, on the contrary. She told me I'm her type”.

"So, what's the problem?"

“To begin with, I don't know her, apart from her name and some vague information about her life, I don't know anything. She lives in Rome, so I can still see her for a couple of weeks, and she's really weird”.

“These are not real problems. Unless it's clearly unstable, the weirdness makes everything more interesting. And, except for the case in which you want to marry her, the distance and the little knowing her are not real problems”.

"Ok. Let's say there is something else ".

Andrea took a sip of beer gesturing to Paolo to continue.

"Maybe there is another girl".

“And good boy, from 0 to 100 in a week! How long have you not been dating a girl? And now two at the same time! ”.

"Not exactly".

“So, are you going to explain me the situation or should I get the story out of you with a grain of salt? It sounds interesting but you are making me work too hard”.

Paolo had prepared a half-speech to tell Andrea enough to make him understand his doubts, leaving out the supernatural part of the matter.

"Let's say that Lucy, the girl from Rome, is very pretty, self-confident, perhaps a little delusional. For some strange reason she likes me and wants to know me better. Except that for a couple of weeks I have been dealing with another girl I have always known but with whom I had never really had intercourse. And I can't get her out of my head. Maybe she is even stranger than Lucy and I don't even think she likes me, but when Lucy kissed me, for a moment I imagined what it would be like with Sofia and I wanted it".

“Hey, wait a second. Sofia? Our Sofia?”

And in that moment Paolo had confirmation of his own stupidity. In an instant he remembered a detail that for some cruel reason his brain had decided to erase. Andrea had gone out with Sofia. And if he remembered  correctly, they had been together for a long time. And all that came out of his mouth was:

"Oh shit".

***

He should have locked himself in his room and thrown away the key. Maybe even bolt the windows given recent events. He had decided to ask for advice on women from the only one of his friends who had dated Sofia. Of course, he could prove useful, maybe he had some advice to give him. But how could he ask Andrea to help him changing mind to a demon who probably hated him and who, by pure coincidence, was also Andrea’s ex? But then he didn't have to worry about it. He was pretty sure he would break his nose before he could ask him any questions. There was some kind of male code about it, right ?! You couldn't go out with your friends' exes or something. After all, the only two girls he had dated weren't part of their group, none of his friends knew them, so he wasn't very knowledgeable about certain rules.

Paolo looked at Andrea expecting a punch or something equally painful, but his friend looked at him calmly.

"From your face I would say that it is our Sofia."

"I'm sorry. I remembered now that you were dating”.

“Yes, a lifetime and a half ago. And I don't know how far out Lucy is, but about Sofia I can confirm it: she's completely out of her mind”.

"Yet you have been together for a long time."

“Technically we haven't even been together for a month, but it went on for a couple of years. First, I was attracted to her, she was in love with someone else, then she changed her mind, I was with someone else. We were together, then we broke up, recovered and broke up again. Then I cheated on my girlfriend with her and so  on” .

"An epic".

"She would have said the same thing."

"So, it would have been better to let it go, I guess."

"No".

Paolo looked up from the beer. Andrea was looking at the sea again, he was still, almost not breathing. He seemed to be looking at something else. Paolo thought of him as something ancient, like that building he had seen with Lucy, intent on watching the passage of time. He shook himself when his friend spoke again:

“It might have been better if it had been easy, if we had been in a normal relationship. But I wouldn't change a single moment of my time with her and I certainly don't wish it hadn't happened”.

"I got it".

"Really? I do not believe. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying you haven't had your problems with women or that it was too complicated a situation for you to understand. It's just that it got inside me and what was left of me once I got out of my life was mush. "

"Yet would you do it again?".

“It's like a drug. If you have never taken it, it is easy to avoid, but once you feel the thrill you always remember the sensation ".

"I'm not sure I understand what your advice would be about it."

“I am the least suited to give you advice on this. But if you really want one: stay away from it because once you try it you never get out. And since you have a great alternative, I don't see why you should mess with Sofia when you don't even know if she likes you. "

"It seems reasonable to me."

"It is, that won't make it easy to follow my advice."

Paolo had avoided fantasizing about Sofia. As much as he had tried to find out more about Lilith, he had well divided the two entities in his mind. But if at first it was the demon who occupied her thoughts, the human side of the girl had slowly appeared. When Lucy had kissed him, he had become well aware of it: if Lilith frightened and attracted him like a beautiful predator, Sofia intrigued him and her humanity calmed him, even if he feared to discover that in all those years, she had only played the part of the human girl. He found himself wondering how she managed to make those two natures coexist, how much of one and how much of the other there were in every gesture. And now, looking at Andrea, he was curious to know which of the two he had known.

And he was there again, with the thought revolving around her. Bad. Totally unreasonable.

"So, tell me about Lucy."

Paolo mentally thanked his friend who had pulled him out of the mental labyrinth about Sofia and replied "She comes from Rome, I think his father is English, she studies literature and works in a bookshop or library".

"You've been listening to her a lot!" Andrea teased him.

“Actually, she was the reserved one and then I'm not good with details”.

"How reserved?"

“If she talks about the supernatural and creepy things like old buildings it goes in bursts, but if you ask her about her personal life she closes up like a hedgehog. She says it's  boring” .

"Why is she here?".

"A friend or a friend's boyfriend has the house free for a few weeks. She's here on vacation”.

"And tell me: when do you think you will see her again?".

"I don't know, I'm not even sure I want to see her again."

“Let me understand: she's pretty, she's sexy, she likes you, she kissed your ugly face by her free will, and you don't want to go out?".

"I do not know".

"You should do it, she will leave in a couple of weeks, what can happen in a few days?"

"This makes sense". Paolo took a deep breath and decided it was for the best. "I will ask her to see us in these days".

"Let me know the details that I'm curious".

"It's not like you."

"Yeah, but better than thinking too much about my own love life."

Paolo stared at Andrea looking for something to say, but it wasn't necessary.

“Don't worry, everything is fine. As for Sofia, on the other hand, try to think carefully and if you can, stay away from her. It can turn your life into real hell”.


	10. I need this

“I'm about to see Lucy, we take a walk around Corso Italia. I’ll be in touch". 

Paolo pressed ENTER and the message was sent to Andrea. He felt like a little girl keeping his best friend updated. He certainly had no intention of describing every detail of the appointment. Because that's what it was about. When he had called Lucy to make arrangements, she ended the call with the exact words: "It's a date!" which she had kindly translated to him. She had also said something about the fact that it didn't necessarily have a romantic connotation, but she said that laughing, so Paolo was pretty confused. It didn't matter that it wasn't a real date, his nervousness perceived it as such. 

He saw her coming from the other side of the street. Her step had something light, cheerful, probably accentuated by the high-heeled shoes she wore. When she saw him, she smiled and ran her left hand through her long loose hair. She caught up with him and stopped in front of him looking at him from the bottom despite the high shoes. 

"Good morning". 

"Hi," he replied and in a fit of courage he reached down and kissed her on the cheek. 

"So how have these days gone?" Lucy asked him starting to walk. 

“Well, nothing exciting. What have you done?". 

"I was with my friends for a while, Mina wanted me to spend time with her and her boyfriend". 

"To make the third wheel?". 

"There was also Giacomo. And they are not a clingy couple, at least not in public”. 

"And what have you done?". 

"Board games". 

Paolo turned to look at her with a shocked air, then Lucy began to laugh. 

“Hey I'm kidding! You should see your face! We went around, we visited the city, met people”. 

"Sorry but I had a vision of you in curlers playing cards with three unidentified people in pyjamas." 

“I don't use curlers!”. 

“You can't prove this." In saying this, Paolo stopped near the railing that ran along the entire promenade except in the points where there were accesses to the premises that overlooked the beach. Where they were, the view was not interrupted by anything. He leaned back and looked at the sea. Lucy joined him and sat on the railing, in that way, even with her back to the Gulf, she could look at Paolo directly in the face. 

"Tell me about your friends, Mina and ...". 

"Giacomo". 

“And Giacomo. How are they? Have you known each other for a long time?”. 

“Giacomo and I have always been friends. We grew up on the same street, same schools, same university. I met Mina in class, we have many things in common, many passions, so now the three of us are grouped together". 

"And what about her boyfriend? Nice?". 

“Not much, in fact he's quite an asshole. But he's cool and sometimes you have to settle for it. Why so many questions about my friends?”. 

“Just to make conversation”. 

"I got it". 

“And I realized you don't like talking about your personal life. Let's change subject". 

"Witchcraft". 

"Sorry?!". 

"Well, we talked about vampires and demons, more or less, now it's witchcraft's turn." 

"Ok, I think". 

"You do not care?". 

“I don't know, I know practically nothing about it”. 

“And what does this nothing consist of?”. 

“Well, let me think. I've never read Harry Potter, I must have seen a movie, and The Lord of the Rings is not bad, always the movie of course. Ah and as a child I saw Fantasia”. 

"Really?". 

“Well, it was a nice cartoon”. 

"No, I meant to ask you if you really know that little." 

"I told you, I don't know anything about the supernatural world". 

"Yet you are interested in demons." 

"It's not that they interest me, but I was curious to know more about it." 

"And are you satisfied?". 

"About what?". 

"Of what you discovered". 

"I do not know. I'm torn between curiosity and the feeling of knowing too much ". 

"So why are you here?" 

"I guess you're my type too." 

After that exchange of words, they had resumed walking close together, almost in silence, almost reaching Boccadasse. When Paolo, looking up from his feet, saw the profile of the church and the houses, he thought of the fact that probably the small beach enclosed between them was one of the most romantic places in Genoa. He felt the blood rush to his face and he began to feel warm despite a cool wind blowing from the sea. He wore only a white shirt over a pair of blue trousers, but he felt the need to undo the collar that was suddenly tight. He and Lucy walked down the alley that led to the sea and finally came close to the beach. The girl stood looking around for a moment and then sat down on a bench that looked towards the waves. Paolo took a seat next to her and watched the landscape slowly change as thick clouds approached the city. He was trying to get lost among the play of light in the cloudy sky and the sea, slightly moved, when something caught his eye at the edge of his field of view. Lucy had moved her hair, probably running her hand as he had seen her doing when she had arrived. The bright colour, that bright orange, had prevented him from not paying attention to her. And now he was looking at her, and she was looking at him. The girl had that smile of hers that seemed to mock him, as if she knew how embarrassed, inept and almost terrified he was by that situation. But he had promised himself that he would throw himself, that he would leave all his insecurities at home. She liked him so he had nothing to fear. She had kissed him first, a simple kiss on the lips, nothing special, but she was still the one who had taken the first step. It was up to him. He needed it. Because it made no sense to think of Sofia. For a moment he stirred, but only to call himself stupid. And he leaned over Lucy. 


	11. Someone says go with the flow

She tasted sweet. Not like strawberry or some stupid romance thing. Just sweet. Probably all her skin had that taste. It was the only rational thought that Paul was able to put together. He felt the fresh air tickle his neck. The rest was about Lucy. Her legs resting against his, one hand touching his chest, stroking one button after the other, the other hand around his neck. But Paolo perceived all this as a faint background noise, everything revolved around the girl's lips. If he got far enough away from her, he would see that they were red, and each time he took them in his they became more and more. Lucy had a delicate way of kissing him, she let him take the initiative, while she pulled him to her whenever she wanted him closer. Only at the beginning, she shyly passed the tip of her tongue over his lips, then waiting for him to make the next move. And he hadn't let himself be begged. 

After a few minutes Paolo moved slightly away from her with a last kiss. He wanted to look at her for a moment before picking up where they left off. He brushed her hair and brought it behind her ear and looked into her eyes. But she, almost fleeing from that gaze, leaned towards him, placing her mouth on his collarbone. She brought her hand back behind Paolo's neck, caressing his soft skin, with the light fabric of the shirt touching the back of her fingers. The boy felt Lucy's turgid lips kissing and sucking the very delicate skin in that spot, just above the jugular, and her hand pressing against his neck. He could clearly feel his pulse racing under the slight pressure she was exerting.

It was pleasant, incredibly enjoyable, and it could have gone on for hours. Paolo wondered how long they had been putting on a show as a couple of kids on that bench. Ten minutes? Twenty? An hour? Maybe it was time to stop. But then why? Lucy stroking his earlobe with her lips was their own business. And they liked it, he sure did. The sensation of the trail of slightly moist kisses that the girl had left on his neck, reacting to the fresh air blowing from the sea, her hands hesitantly clinging to his shirt and hair: it was a set of things that it tasted warm, full, like the warmth of the last days of summer. Paolo took Lucy's face in his hands so as to bring her mouth back to his own, immersed himself in that heat and let himself drift.

They had detached themselves from each other smiling, their lips swollen and red, and they had started to look at the sea without really seeing it. Lucy was playing with Paolo's hand by drawing small circles on his palm and intertwining her fingers with his. They had barely noticed the passing of time or the fact that the clouds had gathered over their heads. The light was now dim and the air was full of the humidity of the rain that threatened to fall.

“I think it's about to rain”.

Lucy was looking up, but she didn't seem worried or willing to leave, hers was just a consideration.

"You're right, maybe we should leave."

The girl turned to look at him, his face, his hand intertwined with hers.

"Maybe". But instead of getting up, she reached out to kiss him, leaning one hand on his chest so as not to lose his balance. You could live on  that; Paolo was sure at that moment. He slipped a hand through her hair and with the other drew her to him by pressing the base of her back.

The boy was running his fingers through Lucy's thin hair when he felt the first drop. It was only one but it fell neatly onto the back of his hand. A few seconds passed before another drop fell on his forehead. He pulled away from the girl's mouth and rolled his eyes and another pair fell on his shirt.

"Now we better get out of here." Paolo got up, held out his hand to Lucy and walked briskly towards the seafront. They were almost running towards the city  centre when the rain began to fall heavily. People on the street took refuge under umbrellas, those who had none could not help but move in search of shelter. The boy was thinking about the first porch or bar they would encounter on their street when Lucy stopped at a pedestrian crossing.

“Let's go this way”. She gestured for him to follow her when she started running because the traffic lights gave her the green light. Once across the street, he took an uphill alley, a private road, and after a few meters she slipped under an ivy-covered red brick arch. Paolo thought she wanted to wait for the rain to stop, but instead the girl took out a bunch of keys and opened the door of beaten steel that was under the arch. They entered a well-tended garden and ran to the house. Lucy opened a glass door and slipped inside followed by Paolo, closed it behind them and took a deep breath. She turned to him and smiled.

"Welcome".

***

The house was very large as far as Paolo could see. The room they entered was dark, the only light came from the large window that overlooked the garden, but, due to the incessant rain, the interior had a greyish hue. It was slightly creepy, as far as he could see they were in a totally black and white living room. The floor was very dark and the sofas were white, he also glimpsed a glass table and black chairs around a dining table that was also probably black. He was making his eyes wander when he felt Lucy's hand move up his shirt until it met the wet skin of his neck. The girl rested her forehead against his back and then slowly her mouth. Paolo shivered at that contact and turned to her. He took her chin and bent down to kiss her, found her taste, the softness of her lips and her delicacy.

The light went on.

"I guess you are Paolo".

At those words the two of them broke away, Paolo quickly, as if he had been caught while committing a crime, Lucy instead snorted and with an annoyed look went in front of the boy.

“Hi Giovanni. Yes, it's  him” .

Paolo tried to remember if Giovanni was Lucy's friend or the owner of the house, but the doubt was soon removed.

"Of course, before bringing strangers to my house you might as well warn".

Paul at those words decided to intervene.

“You're right, sorry but it's my fault. We got caught by the rain and this was the closest place to take refuge. Anyway, pleasure to meet you” and held out his hand. For a moment he thought that Giovanni would refuse, continuing to look at him with superiority. Instead, he finally held out his hand and almost smiled.

"No problem".

They were still shaking hands when they heard footsteps coming.

“Lucy! You are here! I was going to call you. I was worried, a downpour is coming  down” .

"Yeah, we noticed that."

“And he must be Paolo. She talked a lot about you, nice to meet  you” .

The girl who approached him with a big smile must have been Mina.

“She talked a lot about you too”.

“You are soaked. Lucy maybe you better change if you don't want to get sick. Paolo come with me; you are taller than Gio but you have the same build as Giacomo. I'll give you something dry”.

"There is really no need".

"You better go, she won't give up until you accept," Lucy told him. She looked at him and her friend with a smile. She gestured for him to follow Mina and probably headed for her room.

Paolo followed the girl to a closed door in a long corridor. Mina opened it and once inside went to the white wardrobe that occupied an entire wall of the room. While rummaging through the various drawers Paolo observed her. She was very different from Lucy, she had short brown hair that she wore in a choppy bob. She was pretty tall for a girl and very thin. She wore  grey tracksuit shorts and a white top that showed the little flesh she had on her bones. Mina turned to him with a smile, handing him a pair of jeans and a blue shirt.

“Hope they fit you well. I'll wait for you out here so you can give me the wet stuff and I'll put it to  dry” .

“Thank you, I'll do it in a moment”.

"No problem". And she went out.

Paolo changed in a hurry and passing in front of a mirror placed near the door he ran a hand through his hair that had stuck to his forehead due to the rain. He looked at himself for a moment and noticed that if the jeans fit him perfectly even though they were a bit too modern for his tastes, the t-shirt was slightly tight around the waist. He went out with his wet clothes in hand and found Mina waiting for him.

"Give me here" he said taking his clothes "join the others in the room, I'll be right back".

Paolo hoped that Lucy had already changed but was disappointed. In the room there was only the boy who had a drink standing in front of the window overlooking the garden. In his left hand he held the cell phone and twirled it with a nervous gesture. He whirled around as soon as Paolo entered the room.

"They suit you" then approaching a cupboard with many bottles of liqueurs "Do you want something to drink?"

"No thanks".

“Do you prefer a beer? Mina can go and get it from the kitchen if you  want” .

"No, I'm fine" Paolo was trying to figure out why he couldn't go to the kitchen instead of sending his girlfriend when Mina and Lucy entered the room. They were talking softly and he suspected he was the topic of the conversation. Lucy broke away from her friend and went to meet him. She put her arm around him and leaned against his body.

"What do you want to do?". The girl asked him in a low voice raising her face slightly towards him, but not loosening the embrace.

"What do you mean?".

“Now, what do you want to do? We can leave, get two umbrellas and go to a bar, or stay in my room for a while ".

"I thought you wanted to spend time with your friends."

"I want to spend time with you".

Paolo distinctly heard Giovanni's suppressed laughter. He thought that from where he was with Mina, sitting on the sofa farther away from him and Lucy, he couldn't hear them whisper.

“I don't think it's nice to just pick up and leave. And  anyway, in half an hour I have to take the train ".

"As you prefer". Paolo, hearing the point of disappointment in the girl's voice, raised her face to his own.

“I'd rather be with you but it's raining outside and I don't want you to get sick. And then we can meet tomorrow or whenever you  want” .

"Ok".

They spent the next half hour talking about various things. Giovanni more than anything else teased Paolo and Lucy on every subject. At one point he came up with "And tell me Paolo, what do you think of Lucy's obsession with vampires and witchcraft?". The girls froze to that question but when Paolo replied that he found the great passion of the girl wonderful, they started smiling again as if nothing had happened. When it was time to say goodbye to avoid missing the train, luckily it had stopped raining.

“I really have to go now. Mina if you tell me where my clothes are, I'll  change” .

"I'll go get them".

"Thanks a lot".

Giovanni approached Paolo with a smile, which had seemed increasingly meaner as the minutes had passed, and shook his hand.

“It was a pleasure Paolo. Come back when you want. Now if you want to excuse me, I'll go out and make a phone  call” .

"Thanks for your hospitality".

The boy put his almost completely dry clothes back in Giacomo's room. He walked out the door and found Lucy.

" So, we talk tonight?".

"Sure! And I see you whenever you want" Paolo gave her a kiss and Lucy clung to him making her small body adhere to the boy and deepening the kiss.

"Be careful". And she accompanied him to the door where he also greeted Mina with much more enthusiasm than he could ever pretend in greeting the host.

There wasn't much light outside. It was almost 8 pm and the clouds darkened the night further. A little further on, on the main road, he saw the cars passing by and a few pedestrians hurrying back home. He walked briskly towards the waterfront. He heard footsteps behind him, a laugh that was followed by a dull ache in the base of his neck and then nothing more.


	12. Everything will be clear

"Have you checked the inhabitants of the house?".

“Before he came out. The girl looks fine. I can't tell you much about the other two, I haven't had  time” .

"Too bad you didn't see who did it."

“At that moment it had stopped raining. No matter how humid it was, I had the sight of a normal human  being” .

"I know, I know".

"Will he recover?"

"Don’t worry. Blood flow and pulse are regular. He only has a little fever, but it is due more to the water he took than to the trauma ".

“He should stay here. It would be  safer” .

“Not again, Andrea. We have already discussed this. He must not stay  here” .

"I do not agree".

“It's not your decision. Now I have to go, I think he's about to wake up. I'm taking Harry and Daniel with me. If you need something call me”.

"Are you sure you don't want to be here when he will wake up?"

No answer came or maybe they had lowered their voices. Paolo had regained consciousness in the middle of that conversation, he was lucid enough to have perfectly recognized Lilith's voice and for some reason he was not surprised that Andrea was there too. He decided to wait before getting up so as not to make it clear that he had listened to what they had said, but he was so tired that he succumbed to oblivion in that soft bed. With one last coherent thought he was amazed that he hadn't been put in some dungeon by a demon, or wherever certain creatures put unwanted guests.

He woke up suddenly. He opened his eyes and looked around. The light bothered him, he put a hand in front of his face to cover it at least partially, but as he did, a pang went through his neck. He ran his hand to the base of his head. It had a thin band that held a gauze. What he did not have were the memories of when and who had treated him but above all of why he had needed to be. He only remembered coming out of Lucy's friend's house and then nothing more.

“Hey, you're awake! Are you OK?".

"No".

Paolo glared at his friend who entered through the door of the room where he was staying. He was holding a bottle of water and a can of medicines.

“You're not in a good mood, I see. How's your neck ?” .

"What happened to me?".

"We do not know" Andrea in saying it looked at him with a nervous look "We are not sure, I'm sorry".

Paolo tried to get up. Apart from the neck, he felt weak. He remembered Sofia's words about him having a fever. Andrea approached him to help and he let him. For a moment he forgot that the fact that he had been there, in the same room, with Lilith, meant that Andrea knew everything, probably more than he did. Then other words came back to him - I had the sight of a normal human being. He pulled away abruptly and, had it not been for the stabbing pain that went through him, he would have moved away from the bed as well.

"What's wrong?" Andrea looked at him confused, not understanding his reaction.

"What are you?".

"What the hell is this question?"

“It's a more than legitimate question. What are you ?” .

"It's always me".

“That's not what I asked you. What does it mean that you had the sight of a normal human being? ".

"You heard us!".

“Don't be indignant. I'm the one who just found out that his best friend is plotting with a demon who happens to be his ex. "

“We don't plot anything. And Sofia is not a  demon” .

“She told me she is! Are you a demon too ?” .

“Neither is! Stop with this story!”.

"Stop it?" Paolo was almost screaming, even though he was giving himself a big headache.

“I get it, you want some answers. But I don't know if I'm the best person to give them to you. Meanwhile, take an aspirin". He handed him the water and the can of medicine.

"I don't take anything from you."

“But what do you think I want to do to you? Kill you? Don't you think it would have been easier to let your attacker finish the job, instead of saving you and then bringing you here to take you out?”.

“My attacker? But what are you talking about?".

“How do you think you took that blow? Someone hit you in the back of the neck with enough force to make you pass out. I don't know if they wanted to kill you or just take you away, but if I hadn't  intervened, I don't think you'd just have a fever now. Please take this damn aspirin, take a shower, and then I'll take you around the house. "

“Whose house? Where we are?".

"Take the aspirin, then I'll tell you what I can".

Paolo reluctantly took the aspirin from the can, swallowed it and then took a sip of water.

"It’s hot. You could have taken it from the fridge”.

"Sorry, give me here". Andrea took the bottle in his hand and after a few moments passed it back to him. "Now it should be fine."

The boy took it back and immediately felt, when his skin came into contact with the plastic, that the bottle was much colder than before. He drank a couple of sips of water, which proved to be fresh and looked at Andrea full of surprise.

"How the hell did you do it?"

“It's my power. I control the water. Well let's say that for now the water is granting me some power over her".

"You're a witch?".

"Sorcerer, or something like that."

"And Sofia too?".

"She is something more, but I think she should tell you about it."

"She doesn't want to talk to me, apparently she doesn't even want me to be here."

“It's not that he doesn't want to. She just doesn't want to stop you from  leaving” .

Paolo looked up at that turn of words "Basically she doesn't want me around".

"Cut it out. And even she doesn’t want you to stay, and I'm not saying it's true, this is your place”.

"Oh yes? And for what reason?".

“Because you too are a sorcerer”.


	13. I see, I see everything

Paolo had been in the shower for a few minutes already. He usually took quick showers, but this time he was kind of stuck. The jet of hot water hitting his head and shoulders was reassuring. He ran a hand around his neck. Andrea had helped him to remove the gauze that he had discovered contained an ointment, or something similar, to absorb the swelling. Paolo was rubbing his skin to remove any glue residue from the bandages, but whoever had done that bandage had done a great job. He once again ran his fingers through his hair to completely remove the shampoo and decided to turn off the water. He had his hand on the knob when he stopped. He was also a sorcerer, perhaps he could do it by laying on his hands, or with the power of his thought. He tried to concentrate, moved his hand a bit at random and nothing happened. He decided to try another time.

“Hey, are you okay in there? You didn't pass out in the shower, did you  ?!” .

Paolo looked at his hand stretched out towards the shower. He called himself an idiot and turned off the water.

Andrea led him out of the room where he had woken up. When he got out of the  shower, he found clothes on the bed that fit him perfectly. He thought for a moment about the blue shirt Mina had given him. It felt like a lot of time had passed.

" Shit !".

" What's up?". Andrea  looked at him confused ,  looking for  something to  justify that reaction.

"How long  have I  been passed out?"

" All night long.  It's 10  am on  Thursday . In  Italy it is 9 ".

"In  Italy ?  Sorry but where are  we ? ".

"Istanbul".

"In Turkey? And why the hell are we here ?” .

“Well, Sofia built the villa in one of the most powerful places in the world”.

"I  was supposed to  meet with Lucy  today ."

" Maybe it's better if you send her a  message and  cancel ."

"My  cell phone?".

“It's in the room. Are you in a hurry? ".

Paolo  thought about it for a moment:  definitely what was happening to  him was a  priority "No, I can do  it in a  while ".

"Perfect".

They emerged in a living room, one  wall was occupied by  three large windows, the opposite one by a single window  that overlooked a  huge garden.  They were high up,  perhaps on the  fourth ,  fifth floor .

"How big  is this place?"

“We are on the fourth floor. Above us there are only a half floor, the greenhouse and the  roof” .

"And under?".

“On the two floors below us there are apartments for those who live here. On the first floor there are the guest rooms and on the ground floor the living room, the kitchen and the  library” .

" Nothing else?" Paolo  asked sarcastically .

“In the  basement you can  find the gym, the garage and a  projection room”.

"Are you kidding me?"

"Definitely. Unfortunately, no projection room" Andrea said with a smile, so Paolo didn't know what to think.

“All this stuff for how many people? How many live here ?” .

"For  now, we are five".

"Do  you live  here ?".

"I  spend a  lot of time  here ."

"And  how many rooms are  there in  total ?".

"At the moment, four downstairs plus this apartment, where Sofia lives."

"At the moment?".

" Let's say it's complicated ".

"Sorry, but are you telling me I was in Sofia's room?"

"No, that's the only guest room on this floor. Her bedroom is beyond the large carved door at the end of the  corridor”.

Paolo  did not remember having noticed any such door,  but what had not escaped him was the  view that he  was now admiring beyond the large window: an immense garden with a large  swimming pool and a gazebo. The  space was surrounded by  trees that he  did not recognize from  that distance ,  beyond which you could see other spaces free from  vegetation .  Everything was well balanced ,  it seemed studied in  detail .

" But how big  is this place?".

“The  property is huge .  We are on a private  hill an hour from Istanbul,  near Poyraz , on the Black Sea. Sofia  built this house with the  intention of hosting  all the  sorcerers she had found on  her path .  Including you ".

" Even if she doesn't like  it ."

“Don't think you know what she feels, or what she wants. I've been here for a year and a half and I know her better than you. Yet I still get lost when it comes to  her” .

Paolo turned to look at his friend. He was also looking over that glass wall, but he didn't seem to see what he was facing. Andrea woke up, turned and walked towards a door that Paolo discovered was the elevator.

"Here we go. I show you the ground floor. I guess you are  hungry”.

Paolo discovered that there were other people in the house. One of these was Maria who, to respect every cliché, was the Italian cook that Sofia had brought to Turkey with her husband, Antonio, who mainly worked as a driver when someone needed him. The boy discovered that Maria was not a witch, but she had been raised in a family that believed in magic. Sofia had come across her while she was looking for some artifacts, one of which belonged to the woman's family. She was too old to be able to do all the work in the kitchen alone, but Andrea explained to him that in reality they did most of the chores, as a magical exercise, with the help of some "perpetual" spells from Sofia. The concept was not entirely clear to him, but it seemed that for her little spells the girl got a part of the power of the place, so that it was not necessary to redo them. An example: the dust did not stop, but was carried out by a gentle constant flow of wind and electricity, much more efficient than one of those new robots that suck and bang against the walls. Paolo would have stayed to get information from Maria, much less reticent than Andrea, but as soon as he finished eating his sandwich he was almost carried away by weight.

"Come on, I  want to introduce  you to a  person ".

"Antonio?"

"No, you'll have time to get to know him."

They walked through the house for a long time,  passing through the immense  entrance .  They arrived in front of a high  wooden door. Andrea  pushed it and Paolo  was dazzled .

" What the  hell ?!".

It was not possible. It's okay to build a house of maybe a thousand square meters per floor. It's okay to buy an entire hill. Who knows, perhaps in addition to the swimming pool there were also soccer and tennis courts. But that room was unthinkable. Paolo immediately thought of the word “Library”, written in large and luminous letters, at least. The ceiling was at least 10 meters high. The wall in front of him consisted entirely of shelving with seven flights of stairs that led to the balconies. The Library occupied an entire wing of the house, the right and left walls were in fact occupied by large windows also crossed by balconies.

"I  see that our guest  has woken up."

Paolo, who in admiring the grandeur of that structure had advanced to the  centre of the room, whirled towards the voice. The wall above the door was also covered with books. At the top of the first flight of stairs stood a tall boy with dark curly hair. He walked slowly down the steps holding a large book in his hand.

“Paolo,  this is Giorgio”.

" Pleasure " Paolo  held out  his hand to the boy  who took it with  indifference .

"So,  did we understand who tried to  cut your skin with  poor results ?".

"I do  not know  anything ".

"Already. It is hateful when they keep you in the dark ".

"Giorgio stop  it ".  Andrea's tone was warning,  but Paolo  thought the boy just  wanted to  tease him .

“ Speaking of  obscure .  Where is our hostess? ".

" If she didn't tell  you it means you shouldn't have known ."

“Oh, but I know. I just wanted to ask the questions our guest doesn't dare to  ask”.

Paolo decided not to respond to that provocation, which was true among other things.

“This room is absurd. How did they build it ?” .

"How did SHE, you mean". It was Giorgio who answered him.

"Who did it?"

"Sofia. With magic, of course. A house already existed on this land but she destroyed it and rebuilt it from the foundations".

"And what kind of books are in here?".

"Every kind" Giorgio replied as if it was obvious and he was an idiot.

"But" Andrea continued, trying to relax the atmosphere, tense for some reason "We have a section on magic that is not found anywhere else. Translated and untranslated ancient books, diaries, testimonies. You can find every single magical  people” .

" Except ours " Giorgio  interrupted him .

"Except ours". Andrea almost sighed as he said it.

“You mean the witches? How is it possible? There will be thousands of books on witches !” .

“And it's all bullshit. There is not a single testimony of true sorcerers. And none of the other  people remembers their existence".

" So, you would be the first?".

" We "  corrected Andrea. “No,  we are  definitely not the first”.

"What would your power be?" Giorgio's question surprised Paolo. Did they really believe that he had any power?

" Um , I  have no idea."

"Perfect. Let's find out !” .

Paolo  knew it was a  bad idea  when he  saw the  grin on  Giorgio's face. He  suspected it was more of a  massacre than a  quest for  his power.  They had come out of the house  that he  could now see in  all its grandeur and  they had headed to one of  those clearings in the  trees that he  had seen from  Sofia's living room. He  discovered that it was used to  exercise various powers  without destroying the villa.  Judging from the  holes in the ground, the  flooded or  burned areas , the powers of the  inhabitants of the house must  have been devastating .

“Come on,  let's see what you can do.  Choose an  element ".

"An  element ?".

Giorgio turned towards Andrea almost astonished. "Didn't you tell him anything?".

"Stop Giorgio".

“Ok, ok. So, there are Air, Earth, Water and  Fire”.

"And Body"  corrected Andrea.

"Do  you really think he  has the power of Lilith?"

"You never know". Andrea seemed amused at the  idea; Giorgio even more annoyed.

"Come on choose," he almost growled at him.

Paolo thought that because of how it had gone with the shower, water was not an option.

"Do  you want a  written question ?"

Paul  said the first  thing that came to mind " Fire ".

"Perfect".

"I  don't think it's a good idea."

“Andre, always the voice of reason. Let the newcomer have fun. Let's see if he can create a flame or at least a  spark”.

"I  think the  only one  who is having fun here is you ".

“ Forget it , I can  at least try ”. Paolo  hoped with  all his heart to be  able to set  something on  fire .  But he  had no idea  how to do  it .

“ If we really have to do  this , Giorgio  at least show  him how you do  it ”.

"With pleasure".

Giorgio put his  hands on top of each other as if he was holding a sphere, then made them rotate in order to overturn their positions. While making that gesture, Paolo clearly saw the electricity spring from the palms of his hands until Giorgio held a slightly suspended flame in his right hand. The boy watched Paolo as he played with his flame, as if it cost him no effort to keep it alive in his palm. He made it grow and reduce to a wisp of smoke and then reactivate it.

"Come on try". The tone was clearly mocking. He expected him to fail and he was sure he wouldn't let him down. He planted his feet on the ground and spread them slightly apart. He put his hands as he had seen Giorgio do and concentrated on them. He rotated them, once, twice, but nothing happened.

" It's probably not your power" Andrea  tried to  reassure him .

"Or  maybe ..." Giorgio  interrupted him .

“Maybe what? Listen, let's stop with this farce” Andrea seemed quite angry.

“Maybe, that's not the right way. Do you remember what Sofia did with Daniel to activate his power ?” .

"Yes,  what does it have to do with  it ?" the  suspicion in  Andrea's voice  was definitely not reassuring .

"Just that drastic measures may be needed!"

“Don't you dare! You don't have the same control as Sofia. And it wouldn't be up to you to do it anyway, but to  her”.

“But she is not here. She didn't want to be here when he woke up”.

"Just do  it !" Paolo  said it almost in a  whisper while the  other two were arguing .

"Can you please repeat?" Giorgio's tone exuded satisfaction, but Paolo didn't care, the boy was right: Sofia hadn't wanted to see him and he didn't want to wait for her to change her mind. He wasn't even convinced that she would.

"Just do  it .  Let's try drastic measures ".

"Paolo  is a  bad idea" Andrea  tried to convince  him to  give up  while Giorgio  gloated .

“So, are you ready? Shield this!”.

Paolo saw Giorgio create the flame with his hands. Only this time it was much bigger and seemed to be gushing electricity. Then the boy threw it as if it was a baseball. Paolo saw it coming and realized the bullshit he had done. He found himself with his hands in front of him thinking intensely "Don't let it hit me, don't let it hit me."


	14. What doesn't kill you

"Not again, no".

Paolo woke up in pain in the same room where he had woken up that morning. He  wa trying to remember what had happened and when he succeeded, he called himself an idiot. Stopping a fireball was not among the things he was able to do. He mentally marked it.

He sat down, leaning against the head of the bed. The pain in his neck was almost gone, replaced by a much more intense pain in the lower back and hands. They had been cleaned up but badly burned. He needed some ointment and something for the pain. He started to get up when he heard a well-known voice.

“I was doing something important. Why did you call me? I had to leave Daniel and Harry  alone” .

“It is about Paolo”. The boy recognized Andrea's voice.

"What happened?".

"Nothing, we were just practicing" Giorgio seemed defensive, maybe he had finally removed that grin from his face.

“Exercising? Are you telling me he ended up in your crossfire?”.

"Not exactly".

“So, what the hell happened? Is he fine?".

"Let's say he tried to parry one of my fireballs."

"You're joking, right?!". Paolo perceived anger in the girl's voice and perhaps a hint of panic. Which he thought was very unlikely. The bedroom door opened and it crashed into the wall from the force with which Sofia opened it. Her gaze was indescribable. Her eyes were completely black, terrible, Paul saw the fury that was barely contained. Then they settled on him and slowly returned to normal, of that brown so dark it seemed black, but above all human, and he saw the panic he had caught in her voice turn to relief.

She calmly walked over to the bed and walked over to him. She put her hand on his forehead and closed her eyes. She moved her hand behind the boy's neck and with the other took his wrist.

"I ..." Paolo began to speak to explain what had happened.

"Silence".

Paolo looked at her. She was very close; she had her hair tied in a soft bun above her head. She wore a simple little black dress with long sleeves and little studs on the shoulders, that was really very tight. The boy cursed himself for that thought, especially since it seemed like she was checking his pulse.

“Sorry, I didn't mean to shut you up. But I was listening to the  beats” .

Paolo blushed conspicuously “Don't worry. However, I'm  fine” .

"I would not say. I feel you are in pain in your back. Turn around and let me take a look ".

Paolo turned his back to her. She lifted his shirt high enough to see the area that hurt him.

"She hit a log in the fall" Andrea was watching them from the door frame.

“Fortunately, Giorgio's powers are not yet fully developed. You'll just get a  bruise” .

"I'd say his powers are fine." As he said it, Paolo showed his hands to Sofia.

"Did you clean them Andrea?".

"Yup. While he was  unconscious” .

"Give me here". Sofia put her hands with palms open in front of him. Paolo was reluctant both for the pain and to avoid blushing again.

"Don't worry, I don't bite." He looked up at her face. In saying those  words, a smile illuminated her face up to her eyes. More of Sophia's smiles came back to his mind and without further thought he placed his hands in hers.

Sophia looked at his palms.

"These burns are only superficial." She looked almost disappointed.

"Well, they still hurt." Paolo tried to take his hands out of hers, but she tightened her grip.

“I don't doubt it. It's just strange”.

"Strange?".

"Yup. Giorgio is far more powerful than that. And his sphere is not only of fire, but he empowers it with electricity. You don't have any electric  burns” .

“If you give me an  ointment, I'll put it on myself”.

“Don't be stupid. If it comes to external wounds, I can take care of them”. Paolo saw once again the girl's eyes become completely black. Then his hands began to tingle and his skin grew back to replace the burned skin. When she released him, his palms were only slightly red.

"How the hell did you do it?"

“This is my power. Now you have to see which is  yours” .

"Clearly not the fire".

"I don't know" and she turned to look at Andrea "Do you have any ideas about it?".

Paolo turned to look towards his friend wondering why he should know something. But when he did  it, he saw that he was smiling with satisfaction.

"What are you laughing at?".

"Yeah" Sofia was assuming the same expression as Andrea. "Tell us what's so funny".

"You know Paolo, maybe you won't have the power of fire, but you sure did something."

"Yes, I fully took a ball of fire and electricity by someone who was angry with me even before he met me".

"Believe me, if that ball had really caught you,  now you would be in worse shape."

“Giorgio has a bad aim. I'm really lucky”.

Paolo was starting to get impatient. Those two had understood something he didn't even see from a distance.

“Don't be blind. He hit your hands full. But the sphere did not go  further” .

Paolo saw a look of full awareness hit Sofia's eyes. The girl turned to him with an indecipherable look.

"What's up? Why are you looking at me like that ?” .

"You have deflected the sphere!"

"I what?".

“You have deflected the sphere! You used magic! ”.


	15. Listen

“I'm sorry but I have a fever. I've been sick all day. Call you tomorrow ". 

Paolo hit ENTER and sent the message to Lucy. 

It was the evening. After taking an aspirin he had slept for a couple of hours and was now going downstairs for dinner. When he had woken up, he had found some clothes to change into. It seemed to him that the shirt for dining at home was exaggerated,  but not wanting to rummage in the closet that was in the guest room, he had adapted.

As the elevator stopped, he made a local memory of where the kitchen was, but it was not necessary because he found Andrea waiting for him.

"How do you feel?".

"Stunned".

“I also hope hungry, Maria made lasagna”.

Paolo was slightly disconcerted by these moments of normality. They were sorcerers, shouldn't they have been eating weird stuff and drinking butterbeer? His knowledge of Harry Potter was minimal, but he remembered that drink well.

Getting to the kitchen from the elevator was quite simple. They only had to cross the immense entrance and a dining room already set. Maria was checking one of the large ovens that were in the room. When she heard them coming, she turned toward them.

"Do you want something while we wait for Sofia to come back?".

"No thanks, I'm fine" Andrea replied. Paolo was quite hungry, the long series of traumas had exhausted him, but he didn't know if he could dare or not.

"What time do they arrive?" he asked to know how long he would have to wait.

"Harry called to tell me they'll be here in half an hour. We should eat by 8. If he's hungry, he can go through the fridge. There is a bit of everything. Do not worry".

The cook went back to her chores, not paying any attention to them. The fridge was huge, in proportion with the rest of the house. Paolo opened it and easily found something to his taste, given the order in which all the foods were kept. He took some bread from a basket and pulled some ham out of the fridge. He felt Andrea's eyes on his back. Since they had come to the conclusion that he had used magic, Paolo had almost closed in on himself. He was trying not to think about it and he certainly didn't want to talk about it, not to mention that the speed with which Sofia had left the room and the villa, a few seconds after the revelation, had made him feel overwhelmingly nauseated. He didn't want to think about the possibility of being a sorcerer, he didn't want to think about the fact that she didn't want him there, and he certainly didn't want to be comforted by Andrea.

"Have you decided to pretend nothing happened?". As it turned out, he couldn't hope that he would let it cook in its own broth.

"If you let me, yes".

"It seems idiotic to me".

“Thanks for your opinion. I will take it into  consideration” .

“What do you plan to do when she gets back? That is, in about twenty minutes? ".

“I will do what I am doing now. I go on with my life trying to ignore your  questions” .

"What about your questions?"

"Given the speed with which she took the escape, I think she will agree with me".

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"You're smarter than I am about these things, so don't pretend you haven't noticed that she ran away at the very idea that I really might be a sorcerer."

“There is no doubt that I'm smarter! She already knew what you are. Now he has only had confirmation !” .

"And the thing made her escape. Her greatest fear has become reality”.

Paolo was surprised by his own calm in facing that discussion. Perhaps he had overcome the problem of rejection. Or maybe he was in full denial.

"She had to go back to Harry and Daniel."

“I don't doubt it”.

“Paolo be serious. She came running back here when I told her it was you. "

"Yet it seems that the very idea of being in the same room with me disgusts her."

"Do not overdo it".

"I can stop overdoing it if you admit that he doesn't want to see me."

"At best I can say that she is behaving strangely."

"For me it is normal".

“Don't bullshit. She told me about when she came to your room. Both times ".

Paolo almost gorged himself on the sandwich. He couldn't believe that Sofia had told him.

"Yeah. She told me, unlike you” Andrea continued as he looked at him amused, having noticed his discomfort.

“Well, I couldn't tell you that your ex showed up at my window and told me she was a creature of darkness. Or rather, I could have, if I had known that you too are not entirely  human” . It was his turn to show disappointment.

"You still could have told me you were dating."

“But we didn't go out! She has fallen into my room! And when we saw each other outside my room she went away  angry” .

"She was quite upset when she got back here."

“I still don't understand why”.

"Maybe because you told her she was the most dangerous thing in your life."

"But did she tell you everything?".

“Unless I skipped the spicy details ... ".

Paolo blushed, conspicuously. There had been nothing between him and Sofia, apart from perhaps a few moments of tension, but in his mind some gestures had taken on romantic shades. For a short  time, he had hoped he hadn't imagined everything, but then he had avoided thinking about it.

"There was nothing spicy. There was nothing at all ".

"And I thought you liked Lucy."

"And what does Lucy have to do with now?".

"You seem disappointed that nothing happened."

"Forget it, ok?"

"What should you give up Andrea?". Paolo turned suddenly: Sofia was at the door looking at them suspiciously.

“Maria we are ready, when you want. You two, come to the  table” . The girl left the kitchen, letting the door close behind her.

"Please tell me she hasn't heard everything."

"Be calm. She only heard the part about that girl, Lucy”. Paolo turned to the cook. Apparently, it was she who heard it all. He had completely forgotten that she was in the room.

"Er, thanks" replied Paolo.

"Of nothing, and now at the table".

Paolo sat down next to Andrea, well away from both Sofia and Giorgio. Sitting next to and in front of him were two boys he had never seen. He figured it was Daniel and Harry, the two the girl had gone out with that morning.

"So how was your day?" Andrea asked after a few minutes, filling the silence that risked becoming embarrassing.

“Honestly, I don't know” to answer was the taller and more muscular boy of the two. His hair was more orange than red, unkempt in a way that Paolo suspected had nothing accidental.

"Why?".

The boy looked from Andrea to Paolo. "Can I speak in his presence?"

"Yeah, maybe it's better to talk about it later, in private."  Obviously, Giorgio could not fail to take an opportunity to make him feel out of place.

"Speak freely Harry." Paolo raised his eyes to Sofia. The tone with which she had spoken and the look she was glaring at Giorgio left no room for objection.

"Perfect. Until Lilith had to run here, the delegations were on the defensive. I don't know if you had the same impression, but in my opinion, if there was any possibility that the fairies were willing to listen to us, the Elves were of a completely different opinion".

Paolo was beginning to think that perhaps it would have been better if they talked privately. Now he felt completely cut off from the conversation. His face probably didn't hide how confused he was because Daniel interrupted Harry by placing a hand on his arm.

"What's up?".

"I think our guest got lost, rightly so."

Harry looked at him for a moment and looked mortified.

"Sorry, right".

“And maybe we could even introduce ourselves before we start with the magic politics speeches. Nice to meet you, Daniel. This is Harry”.

"Nice to meet you, Paolo" he replied, shaking their hands, happy not to have to raise the count of people who didn’t like him in that house.

"Go ahead, Harry" Sofia interrupted the introductions, but when Paolo looked at her, she was smiling, seeming pleased. The boy couldn't keep up with her mood swings.

"Well. Today we had a meeting with two of the six magical peoples" Harry began to count on his fingers "There are the Fairies, also called People of the Air; the Elves, People of the Earth; the Tritons, Water; the Devils of the Fire People; the Sorcerers and the Vampires ".

"I have the power of Air and Harry the power of Earth, so Lilith took us with her" Daniel continued.

"Yeah," Harry resumed. "Only that it didn't seem to help. Indeed, they believed that we wanted to command them, that we had come from who knows where to take the place of their royal  family” .

"When I showed them a small tornado, one of the guards almost jumped on my neck."

"Aren't they like 4 inches tall?" Giorgio asked with a sarcastic smile.

“When they want to hide. It is one of their powers to modify their body. If they wanted to, they could pass for normal human beings. In their full form they are humanoids, the fairies also have a nice pair of wings that they can reabsorb” Sofia had given that report as if it was completely normal, but it was clear that the explanation was just for him.

In the meantime, Maria had brought the dinner to the table and for a few minutes everyone ate in silence. Then Harry resumed his story between one bite and another.

“Anyway, when you left, they asked a lot of questions and we said we knew very little about what happened. That from what we understood one of our men had been injured. Then one of the elves proposed a break to wait for  you” .

"Do you remember the name?" Sofia asked him suddenly more interested. It was probably the first time she'd heard the story of what had happened while she was away.

“His name was Matt. I would say he was the highest-ranking emissary" Daniel replied.

"And why would you have guessed that?" Sofia asked him.

“From the fact that he did not speak except to give orders to the others. And nobody argued. Not even fairies ".

"Okay, go ahead Harry."

“While we were taking this break, they were all talking to each other, they had completely cut us off. Until the elf came to meet us and introduced himself. He said something about being honourable for the queen to look after a simple subject in person. Then he asked us if we were happy with Lilith, how her kingdom was managed. Things like that".

"Kingdom? But does he know that we are only six?" Andrea asked quite bewildered.

“Lilith made that clear right away. It was the first thing he  said” .

“Elves and fairies are very ancient peoples. And they have very strict hierarchies. We, even if we are only six, are not seen as a family, but as one of the  kingdoms” . Sophia slowly turned the long stem of the glass, looking at the red, almost purple, wine that lapped its edges.

"You seem to know a lot." Daniel looked at her curiously. He always seemed to look at it that way, as if she was a book or a work of art.

“I've done my research. Something to add to the story ?” .

“Nothing, then you came. What happened once you were alone with the two delegates ?” .

“They proposed another meeting. I suspect because of the suggestion of your new friend”.

"You seem to know him."

“Only for fame. Apparently, he is about to marry the only princess of the People of the Earth. And not only.  Somehow, he managed to persuade Elves and Fairies to bury ancient rivalries”.

"An ambitious little guy".

“And very powerful. But it would also seem fair. We will see him at the next  meeting” .

"Where will it be held?"

"Here".

"What?".

They had all jumped out of their chairs. For some reason the thing that Fairies and Elves gathered for the meeting in the villa agitated them. They looked at Sofia with wide eyes. Only Daniel had kept his expression.

"You cannot bring creatures of two other peoples into the protected borders!"

"To tell the truth that's not what I said." Paolo saw Giorgio breathe a sigh of relief. Andrea, on the other hand, was still alert when Sofia resumed "There will not be the delegations of the two peoples, but the rulers of all five kingdoms. We will give a dance!”.


	16. Lamia

Paolo had gone to sleep early the night before. During, and after dinner, the four boys had continued to argue with Sofia. He honestly did not understand all that excitement. He was certainly not a fan of dancing, but it seemed to him that the reaction to the news had been exaggerated.

He had no idea what time it was, so he reached into the covers and took the cell phone he had left on the bedside table. It was 5 in the morning, he did not know if in Italy or there in Turkey. A message had come to him the night before. It was Lucy. Paolo realized that he had hardly thought about the girl in the hustle and bustle of the previous day.

"Don’t worry. I still have to go back to Rome first. But Giovanni told us to come back when we want, so I'll see you soon. Good recovery”.

Paolo felt almost relieved. One less person to explain to. Andrea had told him the day before that he had sent a message to his parents saying that he was fine and that he would stay at a friend's house for a job, so for a few more days he was covered. Not that he expected to stay there much longer. He did not know how much Sofia would endure his presence.

He reluctantly got out of bed and went to the bathroom. He took a shower and as the water ran over her skin, he found himself looking at his hands: the skin was normal again. The memory of the burns seemed like a dream to him, but the feeling of healing was well etched in his mind.

Once out of the shower he found some clean clothes on the bed. That was becoming a vaguely creepy thing. He got dressed and left the room. Paolo was about to head towards the hall when he noticed that the door on his left was slightly open: it was huge, finely carved, so according to Andrea's description it must have been the door to Sofia's bedroom. He walked slowly and tried to peek through the crack but saw nothing.  So, he knocked.

"Come in".

It was her. He pushed the door and entered. The room was magnificent, as was the rest of the house. On the wall opposite the door there was a large bookcase. It wasn't much lower than the one on the ground floor. The room looked more like a living room than a bedroom, but as he approached the endless  shelves, he noticed that there was a half floor, in which the real bedroom was probably located. Sofia was coming down the stairs that allowed access to the various floors of the library and the mezzanine. She didn't seem at all surprised that it was him.

"Sorry, I saw the door open."

"Oh yes? Probably Giorgio in the urge to show his disappointment did not close it well. It is not an easy door to slam”.

"Yeah, I guess."

"Did you need something? Or were you just curious to see the demon's lair?”. As she spoke, she approached him "I like how that sweater fits you" and moved to a couple of sofas placed near one of the two large windows that delimited the room.

"Thanks". He wanted to add that she looked fine too. More than fine. The girl was dressed in black as usual, wearing a pair of leggings and a loose top with a wide neckline on the back that revealed the bra closure. "Why was Giorgio annoyed?".

Sophia turned to look at him with a smirk. "You don't like him right?".

"To tell the truth, he was the one who targeted me."

"I imagined. However, he still wanted to discuss the  dance” .

"Ah". All night long? Paolo did not say it aloud, but his disappointment was all in that single syllable.

"What do you think about it?" she asked, sitting down on one of the black sofas.

"I honestly don't understand all this turmoil."

"Didn't Andrea tell you anything?"

"I haven't seen him since last night".

"Do you want something to eat? And maybe even some clarifications".

"Yes thanks". He was amazed that she was so willing to share information. It wasn't like her.

“I'll be right there. You should poke around”. She left the room. 

Paolo looked around and decided that the bookcase was certainly the most interesting part. He began to climb the first flight of stairs looking at the books that was in front of his face. They seemed divided by subject, philosophy and history. He climbed again and found himself inundated with books of poetry, some of which were double, different editions in different languages. When he looked up at the ramp that led even higher, he noticed that that gallery continued up to the half floor. Beyond a wooden railing he could see a huge bed with very dark burgundy sheets. The wall behind the wall was white, completely empty, and the dark linen and furniture stood out very much. He was undecided whether to venture or turn back when he heard the heavy door open. He began to descend the stairs and saw Sofia walking towards the sofas with a tray in her hand.

"Thank you," he said as he sat down. Cappuccino and brioches were hot.

"Did you find something interesting?".

"I had little time".

"Do you want to ask me some questions?".

"I don't know where to start honestly." He thought for a second "Why Lilith?".

It was a good question. An excellent question. He was sure of it. As much as he was interested in the reason for all that agitation, that was the most important question for him, the first he had ever asked himself. Paolo had puzzled over why everyone was so confused between calling her Sofia or Lilith, or at least he was. It seemed that during the night, when her power was most on the surface, the name Lilith was a kind of invocation. When he had done his research, immediately after meeting her, the only thing really clear was that Lilith was an English "version" of Lilitu, already made pronounceable after various translations and transliterations, but above all it was the name of a demon. The first demon. Lucy had also told him that according to some Lilith was the mother of all vampires.

Yet Andrea had been clear: she was not a demon and the thing about vampires was total madness. But in the night the name Lilith came clear and strong to her, and it did. He had called her and she had come. But why?

Sofia took a deep breath. It was dawn and Paolo could almost see the little particles of dust sticking to her profile and like little parasites taking away a pinch of that power that she emanated, as if she were saturated with it after the long autumn night and they were stripping her of that invisible  armour .

“It was like a dream. My powers had just awakened. One day I felt them grow inside me and the next day they exploded: I was aware of them and fully in control. A sudden calm fell on me like a blanket and as if nothing had happened, I left the house. I felt like threads pulling me in various directions, only later did I discover that those “threads” were you, but I was perfectly able to ignore them. I did not want to be dragged around like a puppet and so I continued my life as if nothing had happened, while the night I was suffocated by my new powers. I hardly slept anymore, I felt something awaken in me at sunset that electrified me and made me want to run in the night, but for four or five nights, I simply stood at the window watching and feeling, still and motionless while my blood boiled. Until one night I heard it. A voice was calling Lilith and I knew I couldn't hear her just because my hearing had become much finer, it was much more distant, too distant. I wanted to ignore it, but at the same time my craving had become too strong to do so.  So, I jumped out of the window and ran.

I found myself where I needed to be. I hadn't run  anymore; something had dragged me up here. The streets of Istanbul were noisy and bright, but I was in a small enclosed courtyard between them, with a woman looking at me. At that moment I found I could feel death on others. Hers was close, only a small breath of life still held her on this earth. I was saddened and for some reason also happy. I still don't know why, as I still don't know what attracted me to her.

\- Who are you? - I asked her.

\- My name is Lamia - and when I was about to ask her why I was in that place she went on - and you are Lilith, your name runs through the shadows, you are neither demon, nor vampire, angel or woman. You have passed between worlds and peoples, between creatures and spirits to get here. They will call you a witch, and that's what you will be. But you have not yet taken the last step, as I have not yet taken it - she approached me and hugged me - I missed you -.

I felt the magic overwhelm me and as I found myself in that courtyard, I found myself where this house now stands. I was overwhelmed by the magic of the place that tied itself to mine, but I ran to return to Istanbul. I needed to know more. No magic brought me there but I found the road, and then the courtyard, black sheets wrapped doors and windows, songs in a language that for some reason I understood sang of mourning and loss and of a journey that was not the end. I knew she was dead and I knew that the name she gave me was the name of the magic within me ”.

Paolo remained silent, while the dawn lights carried away part of that magic, and Sofia emerged from the darkness.

“Lilith is the name of a demon, but demons haven't walked the earth for millennia. I looked for all the texts, all the objects related to Lilith and  Lamia to understand something more. Nothing I've found matches what I am now. But according to some customs, when a new coven of witches is born, the one who creates it takes a powerful name, which is given to it by the magic itself.  Lamia couldn't be a witch because, as I later found out, they've been missing for a long time, but maybe she was a seer or a scholar of the wizarding world anyway. In his house I found texts on demons, angels, witches and vampires and I'm trying to retrieve a piece she was looking for that could give me some more  information” .

"Why do you think that after so long the witches have reappeared?" More than anything else Paolo wanted to continue looking at her as one looks at a legendary creature, never seen before, but the question arose spontaneously.

“It's about balances. We are what balance vampires. All the forces that sustain the wizarding world divide to bring about a perfect balance of  power” .

"But this means that our power ..."

“Takes power from vampires, yes. And believe me, they are not happy at  all” .

"Is that why everyone is so upset?" Sofia, or perhaps he should have started to think of her as Lilith, nodded.

“You must know that the area on which the villa stands is sacred, very powerful. There are other hotspots in the world, cities, hills, entire regions, which are simply magical. The whole area around old Constantinople is. When I was guided here and decided to build this place, I realized that in addition to increasing my power, the magic of the place also created defences. Normally a place like this attracts magical creatures, Rome, Washington, are invaded. But here, nothing. Apparently, it calls only sorcerers to itself. So, I strengthened the  defences and now no other magical creature can cross its borders ".

“So, it's well protected. I don't understand why they are so nervous then”.

“Because in order for the delegations to enter I will have to lower my defences. It is true that we are still very powerful in the borders, but I should almost eliminate them, as well as reveal where we are”.

"Are the other peoples so terrible?"

“I've been in contact with Elves and Fairies for a year now and no, they are not. They are frightened and fear that we want to seize their power. But the fact that yesterday they were the ones to propose another meeting bodes well. Tritons are quite terrible, very ancient and with not very modern customs, but they are well disposed towards us. As for the People of Fire it is difficult to understand, they are divided into tribes and if some of their leaders are willing to come, it does not mean that the others are too. But the real problem is the  vampires” .

"Just because we take away his power?".

"Apparently they want to exterminate us."

Paolo froze with a piece of brioche in his mouth and the cup in his hand, sure that his expression was rather ridiculous at that moment.  Instead, she looked at him calmly, perhaps waiting for him to say something or to run away.

"Are you serious?"

“Never been more serious”.

“Do the vampires want to kill us? But is this normal? And you tell me so? What can we do? Certainly, don't invite them to the prom. Indeed, the others are right: cancel the dance”.

“Breathe Paolo. Everything is alright".

“It's not all right! You just said they want to kill us !” .

“First: not all vampires want to kill us. Second: it is not so easy to kill a sorcerer with fully developed  powers” .

“How can you be so calm? It almost seems that you don't care!”. Paolo immediately regretted those  words, he saw Sofia stiffen and despite his inability to read women, he saw anger and then pain pass in her eyes. "Sorry, I did not want to".

“You have your reasons for thinking that. Now sorry but I have things to decide".

Paolo lowered his eyes; the farewell had been cold and Sofia's gaze was too. He got up from the sofa and headed for the door. When he had his hand on the doorknob he turned and looked at the girl. She stared fixedly at the point where he was sitting, she was standing still, it seemed as if she was not breathing, a beautiful statue.

Once he left the room he didn't know where to go or what to do. He wanted to go inside, tell her he didn't understand anything, that he was frightened. And then scared of what? Didn't he trust her? He could certainly trust Andrea; he had already saved him once. And she, as far as he understood, was very powerful. She would not endanger all of them, if she had invited potential killers into his house, she surely counted on being able to keep them at bay. As he struggled, trying to make sense of his thoughts, he bumped into someone.

"Hey, where is your head?".

"Ah, it's you" replied Paolo, looking at Andrea.

“What a warm welcome”.

"Better you than Giorgio". Andrea looked at him, trying to understand what was in his mind.

“I assure you he's not that bad, on the contrary”.

“You can see that it's only me he doesn’t like. Not bad, the thing is becoming  reciprocal” .

"I just think he's jealous."

"And what about? Of my enviable athletic skills? Or the magical ones, even more exceptional?".

"About you and Sofia". Paolo gave him one of his best hallucinated looks.

"I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one who doesn't understand shit in here. About me and Sofia? And what exactly should he be jealous of? Of the fact that she disappeared for weeks after she came to me? That she doesn't want to be in a room with me and that she runs away as soon as she can? Or that when she's in a good mood and seems to tolerate my sight, I always say the wrong thing ?” .

Andrea looked at him astonished. He had never shown his feelings so openly. And  certainly, doing it there, in the corridor, so close to Sofia's ear was not a good idea.

“Come on, let's go to my room.  So you can calm  down” . Andrea expected Paolo to oppose or start delirious again, instead he simply started walking towards the elevator.

They went down a floor and found themselves in a very long corridor with five doors arranged on either side. Andrea headed left and stood in front of the first one he met. There was no handle, nor any type of lock. Paolo saw his friend place the palm of his hand on the dark wood, and felt a shiver at the base of his neck. The door swung open with a smooth movement and when both boys entered the room, it closed behind them.

"I'll never get used to certain oddities."

“If you stay here long enough you will begin to appreciate them. They make everything  easier” .

Andrea went to sit on a very large sofa in a beautiful dark blue. Paolo followed him and let his gaze wander over the landscape outside the large window. It was the same one you could see from the upstairs lounge.

"So, can I know what happened?".

"I told her she doesn't care."

"Who doesn't care  about what?"

Paolo took his head in his hands and began to torture his hair.

“I'm an idiot, I know, but she stood there, like it wasn't a dangerous thing, like it was all right. And it isn't. I know she's powerful and it's not easy to take her out. But if a vampire really wanted it, he could do it. Quite right?".

"Did you tell her she doesn't care if she lets herself be killed?"

Paolo looked up at his friend. No, that wasn't what he said. He practically accused her that he didn't care if they killed them. Let them kill him. But maybe that wasn't what he was really afraid of.

"Something like that".

“It's not easy to take her out. And she's getting stronger and stronger. You can rest assured".

"And us? We are not as strong. Then I am a real sucker ".

Andrea looked at him sternly and sighed. He got up, and walked to the window.

“If we weren't strong enough, even if you didn't learn anything from here to the dance, to be honest, we would have nothing to fear. If not to lose her".

"What do you mean?".

"You don't know her as I do, as I have known her in the last two years. If one of us were attacked... she would get in the way”. As he said these last words, Paolo saw in his eyes a great sadness, a great fear. And all of a sudden, he was certain that she would take a bullet instead of any of those boys. Maybe even in his place. And he was afraid, and he felt anger. So, he understood what had infuriated Giorgio that morning and what Andrea saw outside that window. The vision of a world in which she had disappeared.


	17. I'm coming back home

It was now a week since he had returned to Italy. Paolo was at home, even if under guard, to prevent his parents from reporting his disappearance. He had also heard Lucy via text, the girl was planning to return to Genoa for the Christmas holidays, he had no idea which continent he would be in for the holidays. When Sofia had told him the day after his outburst that he should go home, he had thought it was forever. But the girl had told him that it was necessary for him to return so as not to create suspicion. He needed a cover for his departure, so they had opted for an internship in Milan, a story that his parents had greatly enjoyed. That morning he had packed up and left the house, outside Andrea was waiting for him to take him back to Turkey. He loaded the suitcase onto the car, a black sedan that was too conspicuous, and got into the passenger seat.

"Good morning".

"You look really  bad; you should have slept instead of tossing and turning in bed all night."

"And how do you know what I did last night?".

"I saw you".

"I'm sorry?!". Paolo had just come back into contact with the sorcerers and they were already exasperating him.

"I had a specific order never to lose sight of you".

"Disturbing".

"Necessary".

"Exaggerated".

"It wasn't my decision." Andrea had started driving with a smirk on his lips.

"So, what magic trick are you taking me away with?"

“None, only Sofia can move bodies in space, and today she wasn't available. Car and airplane”.

"What a joy!".

"I think you will find the trip to your liking".

"Of course".

"Come on, always complaining... Tell me instead, did you call Lucy?".

"If you have spied on me you know the answer very well."

“We are in a really good mood huh?! Anyway, I was told to make sure you didn't end up in the clutches of some vampire. Nobody mentioned the reds!”.

Paolo was looking out the window. They were about to take the highway, if they had to get to Genoa to catch the plane, the road was still long. After all, he was not angry with Andrea, it made no sense to pour on him a bad mood destined for someone else.

"I called her. Shee said she is going to return to Genoa for the Christmas holidays”.

"And?".

"And what?".

"What did you answer?".

“That I am happy and I hope to see her. Even though I will probably be in another continent”.

"Are you sorry? Not being able to see her?”.

"Yes. She is cute ".

"But?".

“But I have other things to think about now. Sorcerers, vampires, various other peoples, my powers, this blessed dance... by the way, has a date been set?”.

"I do not know anything. I've only heard Giorgio these days. But Sofia has been away all week and this morning, according to what they told me, she hadn't come back  yet” .

"I got it".

"You're nervous?".

"You are not?".

“I had time to calm down. I'm worried, of course, but I trust  her” .

“A mess could happen. I don't know anything about this stuff, but I have a bad  feeling” .

"Believe me, we all have it".

The journey continued more or less in silence. As Paolo expected, they had exited the motorway and headed for the Genoa airport. Andrea had brought the car into the area of the private hangars. Once they got out of the car they were accompanied to a jet, which had the symbol of a company on its side that he had never seen. Paolo followed the other boy up the ladder. Nobody asked him for his documents or spoke to him, apart from the man who, after having accompanied them, took over the sedan.

On the small plane there were about twenty cream armchairs, black tables and a television. Two doors opened on the bottom, while on the other side you could see the control room. Andrea entered to greet the two men who were to fly the plane, one of the two closed the hatch and prepare to take-off.

Paolo had never taken such a comfortable and silent plane. He figured it was also very fast. He had witnessed the entire take-off by looking out the window with comfort thanks to the seats that rotated 180 degrees.

"Whose plane is this?" he had asked once they got up to altitude.

“Sofia’s. Her company’s actually ".

"Obvious. What stupid questions I ask. Someone who builds a villa like that, she couldn't help but own a jet, and a company. Company of what? If I may  know” .

"It started with the purchase and sale of works of art, then acquired a publishing house. In practice, it deals with buying, selling and promoting everything that Sofia considers  art” .

“And where would she find the time to run such a company? And above all, how does she afford a plane?”.

“When I speak of art, I speak of pieces of immense value, paintings, sculptures, the privatization of monuments. And the publishing house works all over the world: publications, translations, sell of film rights. The company is divided into various parts and is run by several people in Rome. She mainly deals with those objects and books that may have a value for us".

"A value?".

“Books that contain references to sorcerers. Scrolls. Once she found an amber pendant that reacts to our power, from Cappadocia. Since that day she has been looking for references to objects that are said to be magical. She is trying to reconstruct our history, understand if there was magic before us, if there is some legend".

“And the company acts as a cover for it”.

"And it allows us to live as we live, focusing on our powers."

"And on not getting killed".

"Excatly".

"So, now that we're back, what's the plan?"

“I know as much as you do. But surely we will have to  train” .

“Especially me. Maybe this time you could help me. Better soaked than burned”.

"I really don't think Sofia will let me take care of your training."

“Then it's official. If she leaves me in Giorgio's hands, she hates  me” .

"You did not understand. She clearly said not to even dare to test our powers on you. She intends to do it in person !” .


	18. What now?

After only two and a half hours they were walking through the gate of the villa. The first time Paolo was brought there he had woken up in the guest room, but this time he had enjoyed the whole ride from the airport, through the European side of Istanbul, to the Black Sea. It took an hour to get to Poyraz and then a few more minutes to take the private road up to the walls that surrounded the property. The view was particular, from every point you could see the Black Sea behind the shrub-covered hills. Low stone houses sprouted here and there on the barren ground, Paolo found it hard to believe that this place was so full of magic, it just seemed desolate. But once beyond the large wrought iron gate everything was different, the shrubs rose up luxuriantly, every kind of Mediterranean plant created a rich but tidy vegetation. As they approached the house, evergreen trees formed taller rows, delimiting what he knew were large fields where the boys trained. And  finally, they arrived in front of the immense entrance, rows of roses and all kinds of flowers created a design around the square where Antonio, who had gone to pick them up at the airport, stopped with the car. They got out, and once he had taken his suitcase, Paolo followed Andrea into the large entrance. 

"Where do I sleep this time?". 

"For now, take your stuff to the guest room on the top floor. I don't know what Sofia's plans are”. 

Paolo thought that she probably wanted him as far away from herself as possible, he just hoped that there were also no dungeons in that villa. 

As he headed towards the elevator, he saw that Andrea was not following him. "You do not come?". 

“I'm going to look for the others first. They are around here somewhere. See you up in the living room" and he went out the main entrance again. 

Paolo had no desire to spend time with the other guys, especially with Giorgio, but he didn't even shudder at the idea of seeing Sofia again. After all, he was sure that at the first opportunity he would tell her some other bullshit, pushing her away again. 

He took a shower and changed, even though the journey hadn't been heavy, just to waste some time. But when he no longer knew what to do, he left the room and went into the living room. All four of the boys were seated on the sofas overlooking the immense window. It was now lunchtime and a tray with sandwiches of various kinds was placed on the table. 

"Good morning," he said to show his presence in the room, as everyone turned their backs on him and seemed absorbed in their conversation. 

"Hey, we've been waiting for you to eat, I'm starving," Harry replied with a smile as his hand reached out to finally grab a sandwich. 

"Sorry," he said without too much conviction, especially since the red was looking at him smiling, more to the sandwich than to him. 

“Come on. They were telling me the latest news" Andrea moved a little to make room for him. Paolo sat down on the sofa, took a beer and took a sip. 

"So? What did I miss?". 

"Not much, they were telling me that Sofia has been away all week." 

"Yeah," Daniel resumed, "the latest news we heard was about Russia and I don't know what carpet." 

"Carpet?" Paolo asked rather bewildered. 

"At least that's what Harry understood, something magical anyway." 

"She sounded very excited," the boy mumbled between mouthfuls. 

"And what about the dance?". 

“She didn't tell us anything. The only one who knows something new is Giorgio. He's been touring volcanoes this week” Daniel replied with a mocking smile. 

“I didn't go around volcanoes. Only a couple of tribes live that close to the fire!”. 

“Well, you didn't want to tell us anything. So, we have to guess”. 

"There is nothing to say. I brought messages from Sofia and showed them some of my skills. I don't know what they intend to do, they were interested in me as you are in an animal juggling in the circus. And you don't discuss your plans in front of a simple  messenger” . 

"You know you are not only that" Andrea looked at his friend as if he had already heard that speech many times. 

“They see me like this. Some tribes are more evolved, but most of the devils live as if they had just discovered fire”.

“Trust me, we all have our headaches. Apart from the elves, who have now lived among human beings for a millennium, the others are fairy tale characters”.

"Hey! Even dealing with elves is not easy" Harry interrupted them. “On the contrary, with this story they are the "evolved" ones believe themselves to be the best of all. They think they can reign not only over the fairies, but over all the other peoples. They're damn smart bastards" 

“Yet they are the only ones who have openly sided with us. That Matt seemed well disposed”. 

“They probably count on their own gain. I think Lilith scares them, more than Blake. And I don't know how it's possible, there are terrifying rumours about her”. 

"Who is Blake?" asked Paolo, who up to that moment had managed to follow the thread of the discussion. He wanted to avoid getting lost in magical delusions once again and feel out of place. Daniel come to his rescue, who at that moment seemed to be lost looking at the view out the window. 

"She is the queen of vampires and she is a sadist: she kills for the sake of destroying lives, and she creates vampires out of jealousy, to bind men and women to her who otherwise would stay away from her." 

"So, I guess she won't be at the ball," Paolo said candidly.

None of the boys said anything, for a moment they fell silent, then a voice behind him answered, with determination and without leaving room for replies. "Oh, she'll be there," said Sofia "And she'll be first on the guest list."


	19. Dance with me

When he turned around, for a moment he forgot the new absurdity Sofia had told him. She was exaggeratedly beautiful to be like that, just standing in the middle of that room. She obscured the bright light that came in through the immense window, she seemed to wrap herself in it and then turn it off. The black of the clothes that wrapped her, that colour that he had learned to associate with her by now, gave the whiteness of her skin a pearly brightness. Paolo found himself staring at her legs, wrapped in a rather short skirt, slender from the high-heeled shoes with which she walked calmly towards them. Under the leather jacket he could glimpse the wide burgundy neckline of a t-shirt or top. She had the usual proud look that made the picture even more beautiful and aggressive.

"Giorgio, can you come for a moment?".

The boy got up and walked over to her. Paolo saw as he placed his hand on her hip as if it were the most natural thing in the world. They were so close that he was sure they could feel each other's breath on their skin. He looked down, feeling he had looked too much.

"We’ll be right back" he heard her say, while he kept his gaze fixed on the table, without really seeing it.

“Well, she didn't have carpets under her arm”.

"Sorry?!" Paolo looked up at that comment.

“Harry talked about a magic carpet. Andrea noticed the non-presence” Daniel said looking at him as if he understood too much, and found his person very funny.

"Ah OK".

“Who knows if she has decided the date for this blessed dance. I hate the very idea of having to wear one of those rigid suits”.

"And of all things, the only one worrying you is having to wear a suit, Harry?" Andrea said laughing, while he looked at the boy who was spread out on the sofa after having swallowed a dozen sandwiches.

"And what else should I worry about? None of us have much of a say !” .

"For what matters we don't even have it on clothing either".

"What's that supposed to mean?" Paolo asked.

“You know the clothes you always found ready on the bed? Or all those who are in the closet and fit you perfectly? Who do you think chooses them? ".

"Maria?"

"Are you serious? If Maria dressed us, we would end up wearing beautiful braided sweaters !” .

"Certainly more comfortable than a suit and a tie".

“Then a nice sweater for you Harry. You just had to say it, I bet you would be very elegant” Sofia said laughing as she went back into the room followed by Giorgio. Paolo could not help but notice that she had changed, and the image of her undressing in front of the other boy filled his eyes. They were both smiling so much that Paolo felt sick. They sat on the sofa in front of him and Andrea, she was holding envelopes in her hand which she began to open.

"What are those?" Andrea asked.

“The answers of the various tribal leaders. Giorgio just gave them to me. It is already impressive they haven’t sent smoke signals”.

The girl opened the envelopes one by one, placing the already read ones on the table.

"You seem to have made a great impression. Apart from the Saharan tribe and the Elba tribe, they all responded positively. With those of last week we are at  six” .

"It's a nightmare to deal with some of them."

“Don’t worry, I know it well. The only ones that worry me are the Cascadic. Their definitive refusal would be a disaster”.

"Where are they from?" Paolo asked for the sake of knowledge and to occupy the mind.

"They occupy the entire area around and under the San Andrea fault".

"But it's a huge area!" he commented in amazement, knowing very well as a geography nerd that it stretched over a thousand  kilometres .

“In fact, they are the largest group of devils. They are not a real tribe, but something more like a democratic group with an elected  leader” .

"And they haven't decided yet if they will participate?".

"They said they have to hold an assembly to decide. But at this point we can no longer postpone. We have to set a date or we risk the other delegations getting nervous. Furthermore, we must begin to  prepare” .

"Yes, elves and fairies have already agreed, but nothing prevents them from changing their mind."

“The merfolk will be there for sure. They love a good theatre of drama and there have not been such tempting opportunities for crises, murders and mutilations in millennia” Andrea added without giving any impression that he was joking or exaggerating.

“You need to set a date. So, I can enjoy myself going around the world again to deliver the definitive invitations” Giorgio said without any enthusiasm, the smile now gone from his face.

"Do you have any ideas Lilith?" Daniel asked, whose amused expression hadn't changed.

Sofia gave them a little smile that didn't bode well. Something very similar to Daniel's, but much more effective on the knot in the stomach that Paolo felt.

“Well, we need time. Send all the answers, prepare the settings, create safe areas in the villa, finish your training and complete Paolo's”.

"But Daniel and I have been training for almost a year" exclaimed Harry shocked "Andrea and Giorgio for much longer. We still don't know what his power is, and once we understand it, it will take a long time to develop!”.

"Yet he responded well to Giorgio's attack. Maybe it won't take that long” Andrea replied.

"I renew my willingness to throw some of my power at him". Paolo looked at the boy with challenge. He knew he wouldn't come out well from another workout with him, but at that moment he was very tempted to try to see if he was able to make him feel at least a little bit of pain.

"Nobody's going to do his training except me!" Sofia said, interrupting Paolo's train of thought “We have already discussed it. But I admit that it might take him some time, however optimistic I may be”.

"Therefore? This date?".

Today is October 12th. Gentlemen, this year we will celebrate a magical New Year’s Eve! ".


	20. Give your heart a break

It was October 13, 2013. 

Paolo mentally marked that date, like the day he began his training, like the day he got up hoping to be something more than just a clumsy human. And like the day he had had the rottenest blood in his entire life.

He got up by 9 and went down for breakfast. There he had found all the others more or less awake, and above all leaving. He saw each of the four boys greet Sofia with too much enthusiasm for his tastes, including Andrea, but as the day before Giorgio was the one who had bothered him the most. That simple gesture of placing a hand on her side and turning her towards him made him sick. Then they all went out and the girl sat down with him for breakfast. After ten minutes in which he had glanced at her while drinking tea, she had put down the cup and had given him an appointment outside in the courtyard. Paolo had swallowed the rest of his breakfast with difficulty and with some trepidation he had joined her.

Too bad that after two hours nothing had happened yet. Perhaps Giorgio's method was not the best, but at least it had had some effect. Sofia, on the other hand, circled around him while she urged him to focus on the various elements that surrounded him. He was still there as she calmly repeated her instructions:

"Close your eyes. Breathe slowly, feel the air inside you and around you. The earth under your feet, the water that flows under it and the electricity that runs through everything. Cling to the first of them you  perceive” .

Paolo was quite aware of the presence of air and earth, much less than those of water and fire, but he felt nothing, apart from a strong sense of stupidity. He could only feel the position of the girl changing around him. When she approached, he could almost catch her breath, the sweet scent carried by the wind through her hair.  So, he blushed and completely lost touch with the world around him.

"This doesn't work," he heard her say very close behind him.

"I've been telling you for at least an hour!".

"You can see that I have more confidence in your abilities than yourself".

“It wouldn't be difficult”.

“Paolo open your eyes”. The boy obeyed. He already knew from the sound of her voice she had moved in front of him.

"Maybe the drastic method would be better."

“You must learn to use your power not only in emergency situations. But even if you want to screw in a light bulb ".

"I find it exaggerated".

"You know very well what I mean."

“I'm never sure when it comes to something said by you. You tend to be vague and  cryptic” .

Sofia glared at him, with a look full of disapproval.

"Maybe it's better if we go back inside."

"And then you do this" Paolo couldn't stop before saying those words, risking a disaster more or less consciously.

"This?" the girl asked.

"Are you kidding, aren't you? You take and leave, always  angry” .

“Maybe you don't deserve anything else”.

“But I  didn't do anything!”.

"Tell me that I'm dangerous, that I don't care, is that nothing?".

Paolo cursed himself once again thinking back to those moments when he had opened his mouth without thinking.

"You are right. I say bullshit sometimes, but you can't always pick it up and walk away. "

"I thought it was what you wanted."

"Sorry?".

"I thought that a life without me, without this delirium..." she said spreading her arms as if to include everything that was around them "...without all this, it would be better for you".

"You can't know what my life would be like without this."

“I know very well instead. You have lived years without knowing it, you could have gone on with your life forever without knowing anything about  magic” .

“And a vampire could have decided to attack me and I couldn't have done anything. Now, however, I have the opportunity to learn  something” .

“It still remains dangerous. And you have a life outside of this  place” .

"Everyone has it. Certainly Andrea, and for what I know you  too” .

“Yeah, and you know what Andrea's problems are with his life. His relationship with Laura is overshadowed by this secret giant. You couldn't really be with Lucy. "

“You don't know what I want, or what I would choose. I don't know either !” .

"I'm taking away the possibility of living a normal life," she said, turning her back on him and raising her face to the sky that was beginning to get dirty with clouds.

"And to offer me a normal life would you take away from me the possibility of living a more than normal one?". Paolo sighed. Sofia's attitude seemed to end the conversation. He didn't know if she would pick up and pack her bags or if she would send him straight away, but now the damage was done, he might as well risk it.

“You can't decide for me. You can't send me away to live a life with Lucy or anyone else. And you can't even pick it up and go, you owe me at least what you have given to others, the possibility of becoming what they are”.

"You are not like the others".

"I know, my power doesn't want to show, but I'll work hard, I'll be out here for hours to breathe deeply and if it doesn't work, you can throw me at whatever you want."

"That's not the point".

“So, what is it? If the problem is the bullshit I say, I can learn to shut up!”.

"Paolo stop it ..." he heard her say almost in a whisper.

"Listen to me please, I do not want to leave" he knew he sounded desperate but he did not want everything to end this way. It wasn't just the possibility of becoming something more, but more importantly, as much as he hated to admit it, the certainty of seeing her every day. He was frightened by the feeling of emptiness he felt seeing her like this, turned away from him, with the certainty that she would send him away from her, that she would tell him to pack his bags the moment she would start talking again.

"You should go ..." here there are those words. Paolo was ready for a new attack, for a torrent of speeches, to bow down to her, maybe he should have taken her and kissed her. But he thought it was a good way to secure a trip home by evening. Then she went on: 

“…God only knows all the reasons you should go. I did everything to keep you away from here. But...".

Paolo waited for her to continue, that "But" even if after a sentence that had really hurt him, it had given him the ability to breathe again.

“…But now the damage is done. See you after lunch in the lounge on the ground floor, I have to run an errand” and he saw her go away and disappear into the trees.

"The damage". Paolo wanted to be angry, but all he felt was that emptiness that had widened in him from the moment she had turned away from him. A Nothing that erased everything as it passed, even those feelings that he hadn't really accepted yet.


	21. There's something in the water

That day they had done nothing, the  atmosphere between them was cold and Sofia had kept her distance from Paolo, as much as the training could allow. She had returned after the "errand" in an even worse mood than she had before, not helping the boy's progress at all. They had finished early, had eaten something in the kitchen in total silence and then Sofia was gone.

Paolo had thought of going back to his room to vegetate and mull over, but once he got out of the elevator, he found himself looking at the evening view outside the large window. A weak light came from below, from the huge swimming pool that was at the back of the big house, so he decided to go for a swim.

Once he got out, he noticed that someone had had the same idea. He didn't immediately recognize who was swimming, but he knew very well it couldn't be Sofia because it was definitely a man. From the speed of the  strokes, it could not have been Antonio and apart from them in the house there should have been only Maria. When the boy reached the poolside with one last broad stroke and raised his face, Paolo finally recognized Andrea.

"I didn't know you were back."

"I've been here for not even half an hour".

"And did you come directly to the pool?".

"I just stopped by to tell Sofia that I was back, and then I came here."

"Everything good?" he asked as the boy hoisted himself over the edge of the pool and headed for the hot tub. Paolo noticed that his friend walked much slower than he had just seen him swim and when he saw an ugly hematoma that surrounded a long reddish scar on the boy's back, he had his answer. "What have you done to yourself?"

Andrea dropped heavily on the inside edge of the tub and Paolo saw him grind his teeth when he tried to lean his back against the wall. “I'm fine, don’t worry. I just took a bad  blow” .

"It seems a bit simplistic to me. When did you get that wound? " he asked as he sat down opposite him.

"Some hours  ago ".

“But it's already healed!”.

"The water helps the healing process" Andrea explained as he sought a more comfortable position.

“May I know how it happened? Or is it a state secret?”.

“A swimming competition”.

"Sorry but I just can't imagine a swimming competition where one ends up in  tha state," he said, pointing at it  sceptically .

“Because you've never seen a competition between merfolk and sirens. And I assure you that the Strait of Gibraltar is not without rocks and ravines in which to risk your skin. A merfolk didn't take well that I was faster than him so he pushed me into a wreck”.

“And are you alive to tell it? You got lucky!”.

"Let's say my power helped me soften the blow and finish the race."

"Of course, I guess it was necessary to end it, in your conditions."

“It was, beating a lot of them and coming out battered but alive assured us their respect and their presence at the dance,” he said as he began to giggle. Then the pain put an end to the attempt to laugh and turned it into a fit of coughing.

“Why the hell are you laughing? You are in pieces! Did you at least show your wounds to Sofia ?” .

"It is not necessary; the water will heal me quickly. And then I was laughing thinking about that merman's face. When he hit me against that wreck, I took it with me and it got stuck long enough for me to win !” .

"You know... I haven't seen you in such a good mood in a long time." In fact, Andrea rarely let himself be euphoric as in that moment, Paolo counted on his fingers the things that made him exalt, a football match, a good swim and Laura, although not in recent times.

“It was a crazy day! I will be battered and the people of the water are generally crazy, but with them things are simple! You beat them and you are one of them, if I wanted to, I could have asked for the hand of one of their princesses. I think that's why that merfolk would have killed me on the spot. You instead?  Melanchonic as always? I hoped that by leaving you alone with Sofia you would have done something  good” .

"Forget it".

"As you like" replied the boy who was beginning to relax in the bubbles of the pool. Paolo saw him stretch out his hand and form a small vortex which he detached from the surface of the water. Gradually it became crystalline and an image appeared inside, a girl that Paolo knew well.

"How can you do that?".

“I gave Laura a sphere of those that if you shake the snow falls, to keep on the bedside table. Inside there is enough water for me to see through it ".

"How's it going with her?"

“It's awful to keep everything from her. This whole situation is complicated and Sofia makes everything more difficult”. The boy dropped his hand into the water and the small whirlwind with it "Requires too much energy. Now I don't have the strength to keep in touch any longer”.

"I'm sorry".

“Don't worry, I'll be as good as new ".

“I spoke in general. I don't understand why you stay here if you risk losing Laura, losing your life! Your powers are now fully developed, you could leave and live, choosing whether or not to tell your girlfriend!".

"Why are you staying here?"

The question stunned Paolo "We are not talking about me now!".

"Please, answer. Why do you want to stay here so much if you are convinced that Sofia does not want you, that it is dangerous, that it makes no sense to run all these dangers… "

"I haven't developed my powers yet."

"Don't even try to tell me that's the reason" Andrea looked at him hard, as if the very idea that that was the reason disgusted him.

“I don't know...” Paolo said with a sigh “...I can't leave, not yet. But I don't know why”.

“You know very well instead. But you don't want to admit it. It is true that this life is difficult, and dangerous, and you can only imagine how much but I can guarantee it. Yet we are linked to it, even you who have just touched it lightly. And you know what has tied your insides to magic too. You love it, you still don't know why, you still don't know how it happened, because you fear and hate it at  times” .

"I do not..."

“Don't deny it Paolo, not with me, and you shouldn't deny yourself either. I see that look in your eyes when  ahe passes, your pain when it is cold, the hope when she lets you get closer. Believe me, I recognize your way of changing for her... I see it reflected on my face in every mirror of water ".


	22. History is made at night

The following weeks passed between completely useless training sessions, mood swings and a constant coming and going of the boys and Sofia. Paolo got Andrea's help and almost managed to form a bubble of water, as he almost created a crack in a stone, almost created a current of air and almost had stopped Giorgio's famous fireball. Gradually the boy had learned to recognize his own power as a slight flickering behind the eyelids, the growing of something, which however immediately faded without being able to take any kind of shape. The time he was closest to manifesting his power was that of the bubble. He was in the pool, with Andrea sitting on the edge watching him. Sofia had agreed that he would help him train when she wasn't there, which she hadn't allowed any of the other boys. Up to that moment Paolo had barely managed to ripple the water, then, resigned to yet another failure, he slapped its surface. At that point he realized that Sofia had joined Andrea on the edge of the pool because he had heard her laugh. While he was thinking about the fact that it must be a good day, since the only sound the girl had made in those weeks were loud snorts between one order and another, he raised his face to her. And he had seen her, her hair loose on her shoulders, her smiling face and fair skin left naked by her costume. She wore a full one, black strapless that left her hips completely exposed and, as he'd discovered when she jumped into the water, a good part of her back too. The show was magnificent and definitely unexpected, then the situation had also improved. Two identical expressions of astonishment had appeared on the faces of the girl and Andrea. At first Paolo did not understand what they were staring at, until a tiny bubble of water rose up to his face and then burst when he realized it was his work. As much as the two had tried to help him reply, there had been no way. Andrea had asked him several times to rethink what he had done at that moment and to try to repeat the gesture, but Paolo could not tell him that the only thing he had done was dumbfounded in front of Sofia. 

A couple of weeks had now passed since that episode and November had arrived. Andrea had left for the Indian Ocean, Giorgio was to visit his mother, Daniel was in an unspecified place in the Amazon rainforest. Harry had instead returned to the mansion the day before and Sofia had opted for joint training. They were in one of the training grounds, probably the one Harry used most often given the large amount of shattered and half-split rocks, broken and overturned sod, not to mention fallen, half-broken or uprooted trees. The boy sat on the ground with the sun filtering through the trees hitting his face and red hair, matted as ever. He had a blade of grass between his lips and was enjoying the morning sun which was warm despite the season. Paolo was not far away as he watched the spectacle around him wondering how Harry had done so much damage. 

"Looks like you've got something on your stomach." Harry had opened his eyes and was watching him amused.

"Sorry?".

“Your expression: it looks like you're going to throw up. You don't have to think too much or you will end up in a madhouse”.

"I was just wondering how you did all this," he said pointing to a large boulder split in two.

“That's nothing. Breaking and moving things is easy, you should see what Lilith can do with my power!”

"With your power?"

“Yes, she disintegrates the earth, makes it disappear and reappear, transforms it as she wishes”.

Paolo was confused. He had only ever seen Sofia as she used her power, clearly tied to her body. Although he had no idea what she could really do with her magic, he thought that she still had a sphere of action limited to the human body. He didn't know he could also use the boys' powers.

"But isn't her power limited to the human body?"

“No, of course. Every time one of us acquires a capacity, we transmit it to her, just as every time she increases her power it pours into us”.

"Why?".

“We have no idea. According to Daniel, it is because she is the very source of the power we draw from. So, when we get to use it, it comes back to her reinforced, or something. He is the philosopher of the group”.

"And how would Daniel elaborate this theory?"

"Observing" the boy said, folding his fingers as if to make quotes "This is the answer we gave us when we asked him."

"Clear"

"Not at all, but usually he is right, after all if it weren't for his observation skills I wouldn't be here."

"No?".

"No" the boy repeated, marking the thing, shaking his head “When we met Lilith, it was he who pushed me to follow her. I was already running after two blondes”.

Paolo was curious to know how Harry, Daniel and Sofia had met. Andrea and Giorgio were in class with her in high school, but the other two boys were from London, which he had accidentally discovered a few days earlier. Together with this he had realized that in reality in the villa they spoke two different languages and that they understood each other very well. Giorgio's explanation was “It's like the dust”, Andrea then had the good heart to explain to him that it was a permanent spell on the villa, like the one that helped to make the dust disappear from the house. So, without any linguistic problem, Paolo asked Harry to tell him the story, while they waited for Sofia to reveal herself.

“Well, the memories are pretty blurry, I was tipsy if not totally drunk. Daniel and I were at this boring dinner of London aristocratic people. My dad is in the House of Lords and Daniel's does business with all the big shots, so over the years we've gotten to know each other, trying to make mundane occasions less tedious. However, we were about to leave with two blondes whose names I don't remember, maybe I didn't even know them then, when Daniel blocked me. If it hadn't been him, I would have left, but if there is someone who knows how to conduct a good business it is him, remember: if he tells you to sell, sell! So, I listened to him. He took me to the room where they were about to perform a concert  for I don't know what instruments, I don't know who, in short, was a deadly bore. I was about to drag myself out when I saw what had brought him there, or rather who. I can assure you that Daniel is a person who is difficult to move, so when I noticed that he was staring at this girl with insistence without any restraint, I tried to understand what had him so attracted. I remember in a moment of lucidity I thought she was very beautiful, but I have no idea what she was wearing or what her hair looked like or stuff like that. I only know that when she turned around and she looked at us I felt like a pull, as if a bucket of water had been thrown at me and sucked up all the alcohol I had in my body at the same time. She smiled at us, she smiled at me, and then she walked out. We followed her out into the courtyard and there she told us everything. Who she was, what she thought we were, that she smelled us and hoped we believed her enough to give her a chance to show us she wasn't  crazy. I'll tell you, she seemed completely crazy, but there was not a moment when I thought she was a liar or a runaway from a nursing home. So, we decided to follow her to her hotel and we spent all night watching her do little magic and she tried to explain to us how to do them ourselves, until we could. My first broken vase, what a satisfaction!".

Paolo had listened to the boy in rapture, curious, happy to know something more and then slowly a sense of anger and frustration had grown inside him. He too remembered the night Sophie had appeared in his window frame. Yet his story was completely different and the ending seemed destined to be far more tragic. 

"But where the hell is she?".


	23. In the eye of the hurricane

That day Harry and Paolo did not combine anything, Sofia showed up only to tell them that she had to leave so, the two boys spent the rest of the day watching television. Harry, perhaps even more than Andrea, was among the boys of the house the one with whom Paolo preferred to spend time. He was a simple, nice guy, it seemed that he didn't have any thoughts on his mind, although it was impossible given the general situation. Spending the day with him helped Paul stop thinking, and given the delusional state he had been in since Lilith had entered his life, it was good. In the last month, between one workout and another, between a failure and a bruise, he had tried to retrace his own thoughts, his own feelings about her without finding anything logical. Sofia had always been in his life even if marginally, he had always known who she was, he had always known her name, where she had gone to school and that she had been with Andrea. They had even talked once or twice, and she honestly had never hit him, not particularly at least, although he had always thought she was a beautiful girl. Yet when she had appeared in his room something had tied him to her, at first, he thought it was curiosity, then the possibility that there really was a world where fairy tales and horror stories existed, or the thought that he could be a creature himself, something magical, but in the end none of this had held up. But what Andrea had told him, that he still loved her, Harry's story about his meeting with Sofia, Daniel's reaction when he had seen her for the first time... everything seemed at least strange to him. But in a moment of lucidity, he had realized that he was probably just looking for an excuse to that part of himself that he did not understand and at times hated. At the moment, however, while he was watching a football game, a sport that he knew almost nothing about, those thoughts had momentarily lost consistency. 

It was now evening, the two had gone from football to hockey while eating pizza and drinking beer sitting on the sofa, when their quiet was abruptly interrupted. They were in Sofia's living room when the girl emerged like a tornado from the elevator shaft. Ahead of her floated what might have been a large carpet or something similar. She seemed quite nervous, excited and worried at the same time. Her hair was tousled with strands coming out of a braid, her cheeks flushed and she practically ran on her heels. When she entered the room Harry hurriedly took his feet off the slate table and risked spilling beer and pizza, but the girl seemed very uninterested in his lack of education. 

"Harry, where are the others?" 

"Where did you send them?!" the confused boy answered.

"Ah, right. Well, if I don't come out in the next few days call them and check that everything is okay” she said breathlessly as she headed into her room. 

“If you don't come out? From where? ".

“From my room. I have to work" she said turning to the boys, continuing to hold the rug up in front of her.

"Okay, I think..." Harry answered still quite confused as Paolo watched the scene with no idea what to do.

"Perfect! Hi Paolo, I didn't see you... so good night”.

"Hi" replied Paolo with a nod as the girl was walking towards the corridor again.

"You think she realized it is 9pm when she said goodnight?" Harry asked in a whisper to Paolo.

"I would say that even if it had been 9 in the morning she would not have noticed".

"Maybe that was the rug she talked about so much".

"Yeah, but she seemed pretty upset for it to be just a rug".

“Maybe it's a flying carpet! Think how cool!" Harry was laughing as he put his feet back on the coffee table.

"Does that seem plausible to you?"

"Plausible? Seriously? After seeing her come in with a carpet floating in front of her? What kind of problems do you have?"

"I do not know. Maybe I think too much".

"You say?!" the red said giggling.

“Stop laughing at me! Believe me I feel like an idiot without needing your help”.

“And for what reason? Because you think too much? There is no need, this situation is delusional, everyone reacts in his own way. Just try not to get too  distressed” .

"I'll try. Do you think we should warn others?”

"And of what?"

"Of the conditions in which she came back?"

“It's not the first time. Even when you caught her on your windowsill, she went back to that state” said the boy, gesturing to the corridor where the girl had disappeared "maybe she was even worse".

"I don't doubt it," replied Paolo imagining Sofia's face full of disappointment and nervousness.

"You should have seen her, she went back and forth saying that it wasn't possible, that there shouldn't be a fifth, that she was wrong".

"Understood! You don't need to tell me that she didn't want me here. It is clear that it was some magical imbalance, a cosmic  mistake” .

“What the hell are you saying? How did it come to your mind that she doesn't want you here?”.

“It seems very clear to me that she doesn't want me, she does everything to make me understand it”.

“Don't say bullshit. When she realized that you were one of us too, she was very excited. She kept coming to you, every night, even if you didn't manifest any power. She said she felt that you were something, you had to see how pissed Giorgio was when he found out. And then you caught her and didn't react as if it were a joke or a hallucination. She was in seventh  heaven” .

"So why has she always pushed me away?"

"I don’t know that, and it's her business anyway, but around that time there was the first attack, very close to your house, and then you got hit, and then Lucy's story..." 

"I don't ... I don't know what to think honestly".

"I certainly don't have to tell you, but one thing I can assure you, she certainly doesn't want you out of here".


	24. Time has stopped

Sofia really spent the following days locked in her own room. On the second day, if Maria hadn't stopped him by assuring that the girl was 'making food disappear' from the refrigerator, Paolo would have tried to break in. Not that he was able to break down the heavy wooden door, but he hoped that by dislocating his shoulder in an attempt, his moans would lure the girl out of her bedroom. Harry in the meantime got in touch with Daniel and Andrea, the first planned to return the next day, Andrea instead was stuck in the North Sea for the feast of Ullr, a Norse god who loved to use bones as skis, which the people of the water of those seas found very fascinating. Giorgio, on the other hand, was unreachable and neither Harry nor the other boys had any idea where he was. 

A whole week passed, Daniel had returned to the villa and Andrea would return the following day. No one had seen Sofia, but Harry and Daniel didn't seem very worried. Paolo, on the other hand, spent hours going back and forth from the guest room to pass the girl's door. He had also tried to put his ear to the wood and to look under the door, but he hadn't caught any sign of life. He was thinking of trying a glass to amplify the sound when someone coughed behind him.

"Are you looking for water? Or maybe something stronger…” 

"Hey Daniel" Paolo turned embarrassed to hear the voice of the boy behind him, keeping the glass hidden behind his back "No, I would say no. Why do you ask me that?"

"Because if you're not trying to hear through a ten-centimetres solid wooden door, magically soundproofed, with a bourbon glass... then you must be thirsty, even if it seems too early for a shot."

Paolo sighed, taking out his glass. "Sorry, but I'm worried."

“And what are you sorry about. I'm curious, yours is a much more valid reason, but you won't hear something coming from behind that door" Daniel said, then he turned and motioned for him to follow "Don't worry, when she is going to be ready and she will remember the outside world, she will come out".

"Ok" Paolo followed him, left the glass on the counter from which he had taken it and looked back once more.

"Would you like a visit to the library?" Daniel asked him as they got on the elevator.

"I have nothing better to do".

“I like your enthusiasm, really contagious. If you approach training in this spirit, it amazes me that you are not yet a worthy follower of Merlin”. Daniel in saying it had kept that annoying wry smile that he always had.

"Get the grin off your face, I don't need you too to feel bad"

"You know I understand you. You have a lot to complain about, you have two beautiful girls hanging around you, the possibility of having immense magical powers, you are in one of the most beautiful places in the world, in a villa, served and revered, you have passed the last week eating on the sofa, watching sports and playing video games…”

"… and they tried to kill me, I can't see one of the two girls, the other has been locked in a room for a week, the villa is practically a prison and the powers are just a mirage".

"If you want to see the glass half empty..."

"As far as I'm concerned, I'm scraping the bottom of the barrel"

"You're an idiot, really" said Daniel entering the library "and you still don't understand it."

“Why are we in here Daniel? Why did he bring me right here?" Paolo asked, now fed-up with the conversation, exasperated by the situation and tired, both physically and mentally.

"I find this place relaxing".

“You don't need to relax, no matter what happens you always have the same expression, the same smile, the same unnatural calm. It's as if you always know what's going on and you enjoy it a lot”.

"Mine is just the innate ability to hide my feelings. If you were born in my family, you would be very good too". Then Daniel slowly started up the first flight of stairs that led to the library balconies. “Tell me Paolo, have you ever been to the top?”.

"No, should I?"

“I think you'd like it” and he started climbing again without checking that Paolo was following him. After a few moments the boy made up his mind and, without haste to reach the other, began the long climb. There were six ramps to go through to get to the last landing and when Paolo reached the top, he felt fatigue. For a moment he looked down, the view was amazing, the large window facing south offered the same incredible panorama that could be seen from Sofia's living room. Then he turned his gaze and placed it on Daniel and finally on what the man was observing. A painting occupied part of the wall opposite them, something the boy had seen before but which escaped him for a moment, then he understood. He had seen that painting while searching for her, when for the first time he had searched for the name Lilith, when he still did not know if it was a dream or a strange reality.

"Collier's Lilith, don't you find the similarity incredible?" Daniel said, not taking his eyes off the canvas even for a second.

Paolo wanted to tell him that it was bullshit, that there was no resemblance, and he would have told him a couple of months ago, but at that moment, as he looked at that woman with too red hair, too light skin and too ethereal features to be their Lilith, something stopped him. He noticed in her hair the same auburn reflections of Sofia, on her skin the same small moles of hers, in her face an expression that reminded him of the one the girl had when he had woken up after being attacked. Gradually an absurd awareness made its way through him, not only the possibility that that was Sofia, but the almost certainty that it was her and at the same time the impossibility of it.

“When was this picture painted?”.

"1892".

"It is not possible".

"Yet there it is, according to Lilith it has something magical."

"And in your opinion?".

“I don't know, and I don't care. I just know that this is the only version I can look at and feel mine".

Paolo was speechless: the more he looked at the painting, the figure depicted in it, the more he perceived similarities. But although he did not want to take his eyes off the woman, who managed to be wrapped gracefully by the snake, her gaze continually shifted from her to Daniel, to the boy's face, lost in adoration.

"What does it mean that you can 'feel it yours'?" Paolo asked so as not to prolong a silence that risked suffocating him.

"This painting is mine, or rather, I bought it for Lilith".

"Is it the original?".

Daniel nodded his head, walked over to the painting and sat down on an armchair placed right under it. Paolo took a last look at the canvas and then took a seat next to him. From that position they could not see the painting that was right above their heads, so the boy ended up looking around: they were surrounded by shelves full of books, to his right the large window let in a warm light that was fading in the sunset.

"Do you really think it's her?" Paolo asked him almost fearing the answer, there were two possibilities, either the painting was truly magical or Daniel was crazy.

“I look at her and I can't help but think about her, see her. Then I think maybe I want it to be her”.

"Why should you?".

“Because when I look at Lilith, the one you call Sofia, every time I see her looking at someone else, first it was Andrea and Giorgio, then she looked at Harry and now you. This version makes me suffer much less”.

“But you always seem so amused by the frenzy of the situation! We are all here spinning around her, lost, as if we were under a spell, and you are watching us turn”.

“I go around with you, only further away”.

"Harry told me how you met Sofia, why did you follow her that evening?".

"Wouldn't you follow her everywhere?".

“No, I like her, but no. I'll stay for this dance, but if nothing comes for me then I'll leave. I will not stay here, trying to attract the attention of a girl who doesn't want me but who likes to keep her foot in too many shoes ".

Daniel looked at him surprised, Paolo himself was surprised by his own confidence, until he had felt the pain in the words of the boy who was next to him, until he had uttered that speech in one breath, he had never thought about the possibility to leave for real. He wanted to stay there, of course, he would have liked to know Sofia better, maybe go out, he had also thought about what it would be like to kiss her, but he would not have accepted to live forever in that limbo that was only leading him to depression. So, in that moment he made his decision: if nothing had happened before the fateful dance, if there had been no development on the human or magical side, he would have gone. But before he could loudly declaim his intentions, a voice came from below.

"Daniel are you up there?" Harry yelled.

The boy stood up with a sigh, glanced at the painting, then at Paolo and finally looked out over the balustrade "Yes, I'm here, what do you want?".

“Lilith wants us all upstairs, she also went to retrieve Andrea and Giorgio. Do you know where Paolo is?"

“He is here with me. Why does she want us all?”.

"It has something to do with the carpet, she left the room all excited babbling something, then she went to get the others after telling me to look for you."

"Wait for us to come down".

The two began the long descent, leaving behind Collier's canvas now only illuminated by artificial light. By the time they got down, Harry was already heading for the door.

"Hey, what's the hurry?"

“I want to avoid her coming back and not finding anyone upstairs, she seemed really excited. She kept repeating that she had understood, that finally she got it, that she was an idiot".

"So, did she understand what the carpet is for?" Paolo asked.

"Dunno, I guess so". 

The three boys hurried towards the elevator, Harry was almost jumping, Paolo was afraid that he really thought that the carpet was able to fly. When they went out into Sofia's living room she had not yet returned, then he saw her appear as if from nowhere, a moment before she was not there, the next she was in their midst with her hands clasped on Giorgio and Andrea's forearms. She looked exhausted, dark shadows around her red eyes, hair tied in a messy ponytail and breathing slightly laboured. Daniel seemed to notice the same details as him because he approached her as if to support her.

"You have to  rest; you have used too much energy for this trip" the boy told her in a worried voice.

“I'm fine, don’t worry. And they had to be here, you all had to be here” she said in a whisper, as if it were hard for her to breathe and Paolo feared that this was the case. Then she turned and headed for her room but nearly tripped over her own feet. 

"Maybe it's better if we wait for tomorrow" Andrea tried to tell her.

"No! Help me go to my room” Giorgio put his arm around her waist and started down the corridor followed by all the others. When they arrived in the large bedroom, she told him they had to go up the stairs and they did so in a slow procession. Paolo had already seen that part of the room: in front of the immense bookcase there was the very large open half-floor in the centre of which was the enormous bed covered with sheets of a very dark red that seemed almost black, but above it there was no empty white wall, stretched to occupy it entirely there was a tapestry depicting the world. The boy felt Daniel stiffen beside him.

"So that's what it was all about" he heard Andrea say. Giorgio and Harry also looked quite surprised, as if they had seen something they just didn't expect.

"So, it wasn't a rug," Harry said almost disappointed.

"No," Sofia said "something much more interesting."


	25. You get to my bones

Paolo did not understand what was so special about that tapestry, had it been a flying carpet it would have been much more interesting. Sure, it was very beautiful and very large, it must have been at least six meters wide and four meters high, but it was nothing special, or so he believed. Giorgio helped Sofia to sit on her bed, at that moment she seemed really fragile, tired and on the verge of fainting.

"So" said Andrea who had approached the wall and was observing the details of the tapestry "what exactly does this do?"

"I'm not sure yet" replied Sofia, she had sat  down to the face the wall "but I know I need you to understand it".

"Us?" Daniel asked, approaching from the other side of the bed. He reached out a hand towards the representation of Indochina and it lit up, as if crossed by an electric current, the boy immediately retracted his hand "What happened?"

“It is woven with magic, every single thread, every single fibre is crossed by it, so it reacts to your touch, it reacts to the touch of each of us, but only partially. I tried all week, verbal and non-verbal spells, I took magic from the earth, from the tapestry itself and poured all my magic into it... "

"You did what?" Giorgio looked shocked, he looked at her as if she were completely crazy.

"It was necessary," Sofia answered more and more feebly.

"It was necessary?! Please tell me you're not stupid enough to believe it was necessary to kill yourself to activate this thing!" he yelled at her pointing to the tapestry.

Andrea at that point tried to intervene "Giorgio calm down, she doesn't need to waste any more energy arguing with you".

"There is nothing to discuss, she risked turning herself off! How many times have you told us not to use all our magic? And how many times have you done it?". The boy was out of his mind, gesticulating animatedly and seemed about to burst.

Paolo had no idea what they were talking about, what Giorgio meant by 'turning off' "What are we talking about now?" he asked him, hoping someone would explain it.

"Nothing, it's all right" Sofia said it with so little conviction that Paolo would have been really nervous if she hadn't been so visibly fragile in front of him.

"It's not all right!" Giorgio didn't seem willing to drop the topic "Tell him what you did! Tell him that it means that you have used all your magic and that if it is not returned, you risk dying, indeed not even dying but remaining a vegetable, an empty shell with no more energy, without anything that makes you alive!"

"It's possible? Run out of all your energy?" Paolo couldn't imagine such a thing, the possibility of becoming a dead battery.

"It is" Daniel replied, blocking Giorgio who probably would have started screaming again "Our life force is our magic, we exist thanks to it and it exists thanks to us. If you use too much of it or if you pass it on to an object or person, you can run out of it”.

“But it didn't happen. There is a lot of magic in this tapestry, and I know that you can feel it, that you feel it vibrate with yours" Sofia was exhausted, but she tried to close the conversation "I know you are angry and worried, but I need you. I have to try to activate it before I can rest. I beg you".

The boys looked at her and then they looked at each other, they could have forced her to wait, rest first and do what she wanted later, but each of them probably knew there was no way to convince her, Paolo himself knew, and it was the one who knew her least. The boy saw resignation spread over the faces of others and, even before they nodded, he knew they were going to try. At their nod, Sofia seemed relieved, then she looked at Paolo, as if waiting.

"What's up?" he asked when he saw that she had no intention of taking her eyes off him.

"You will help me?".

"Me?!" Paolo did not expect it, up until that moment he had considered himself a spectator in that story.

"I need your power as much as the one of the others."

"How do you know? We don't even know what my power is!”

“I know because I know the scale of our five combined and it's not enough. I don't have enough energy to make more than one attempt so I need you to tell me  yes” .

Paolo was disconcerted, he hadn't done anything up to that moment, he had just failed. How could Sofia think that all of a sudden, just because she needed it, his power would manifest itself. And even if it would happen, it would have been so weak that it certainly wouldn't change the fate of the spell. “I… I… I don't know if I can. What if I don't do anything and you waste too much energy? What if I do more damage than you think?”

"She will do it anyway" Giorgio stared at them, him and Sofia, with a veil of pain and perhaps fear in the eyes. Daniel's words come back to him, they were all circling her, just at different distances, but none of them were safe, none were immune to the pain "try it".

He was cornered, sure, he could have said no and left, but if something happened to her, he would never forgive himself, none of them would ever forgive him. He had thought that taking and leaving would be easy, but he realized he was delusional. That situation could only get worse, he could only bind himself more to her, and those ropes would cut him, deep down, to his bone.

"All right. What should I do?".


End file.
